Ford is creating a $30,000 midsized EV pickup

Regardless of the upcoming loss of federal rebates, Ford plans to present US EV manufacturing an enormous enhance. After hyping it last week as a “breakthrough” and “Mannequin T second,” the corporate has introduced a brand new Common EV Platform to be shared by a brand new household of merchandise. The primary of these might be a midsized pickup with a beginning value of round $30,000, seemingly comparable in configuration to the popular Maverick. It would use the corporate’s new prismatic LFP (lithium iron phosphate) batteries.

Ford will make investments $5 billion, together with $2 billion at its Louisville, Kentucky manufacturing facility on high of $3 billion already introduced for its BlueOval battery plant. It would increase the Louisville facility by 52,000 sq. ft and “create or safe” almost 4,000 direct jobs, Ford added.

Ford’s solely two EVs proper now are the F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E, each of which use one-off platforms. With the Common EV Platform, Ford will have the ability to construct a number of automobiles together with vans, vehicles and pickups that must be simpler to construct and thus cheaper. “The end result: a easy, environment friendly, versatile ecosystem to ship a household of inexpensive, electrical, software-defined automobiles,” the corporate mentioned.

Ford mentioned that the platform will cut back elements by 20 % versus a typical car, with fewer fasteners and workstations and a 15 % faster meeting time. The corporate can also be promising a decrease price of possession over 5 years “than a three-year-old used Tesla Mannequin Y.”

The corporate additionally touted its LFP prismatic batteries as enabling area and weight financial savings together with price reductions, as a result of cobalt-free and nickel-free composition. Nonetheless, the corporate’s selection of LFP for its next-gen EVs has not been with out controversy. Since Ford is licensing tech from China’s CATL, it might lose out on tax credit of as much as $700 million if Congress passes a invoice banning federal help for battery vegetation that use tech or supplies from China.

The primary car might be a mid-sized four-door electrical pickup set to launch in 2027. Ford hasn’t but revealed the identify or proven a photograph, however it’ll supposedly have extra room than Toyota’s newest RAV4 with out even counting the frunk and truck mattress. Consumers will have the ability to lock gear like bikes or surfboards into that mattress, eliminating the necessity for roof or trailer hitch racks. It would have a low heart of gravity from the battery, immediate torque and a 0 to 60 mph time “as quick as a Mustang EcoBoost [around 4.5 seconds], with extra downforce,” Ford mentioned.

Ford hasn’t detailed different automobiles that might be constructed on the platform, however an animation exhibits a spread starting from utility vans to crossovers to SUVs to sedans, together with the aforementioned pickup. One rumor states that the brand new pickup might be known as the Ranchero (based mostly on a trademark submitting) or it might use the Ranger identify. In any case, it is clearly an enormous deal for Ford, for the reason that firm could have at least three bulletins for it. Extra data for the midsized electrical truck, together with reveal date, beginning value, battery vary and cost occasions “might be communicated later,” Ford merely mentioned.