- Rumors suggest a small electric pick-up truck is in the making
- ‘Skunkworks’ project was set up to bring more affordable EVs to the masses
- Ford will unveil more on August 11
Ford’s CEO, Jim Farley, announced on a recent earnings call that the company was due to unveil plans for a family of affordable EVs, referring to the scheduled event as a “Model T moment for us at Ford”.
Farley, who has gone on record to explain just how good the competition from China is (he was famously impressed by a Xiaomi SU7), explained that the company needed to double-down on its EV plans if it is to remain competitive in the future.
As a result, Farley oversaw the foundation of a ‘skunkworks’ team last year that was brought in to develop a low-cost electric vehicle platform that could underpin a series of new electrified models at speed and at scale.
At the time, Ford was losing as much as $5.5 billion per year on EVs, which includes the Ford F-150 Lightning pick-up, the Mustang Mach-E, the Explorer and the slow-selling Capri and Puma Gen-E in European markets.
Alan Clarke, an ex-Tesla employee who was previously in charge of overseeing the development of Model Y, was reportedly part of the 100-strong team that was tasked with introducing lithium iron phosphate battery-powered EVs that could compete on price with rivals coming out of China.
Now, Farley has said that the company plans to reveal the culmination of that work at an event in Kentucky on August 11, comparing the moment to Ford’s earliest mass-produced motor vehicle that opened up motoring to the general public in the early 1900s.
What we can expect from Ford’s announcement
Industry insiders have been suggesting online that the new platform is likely to underpin a smaller, more compact pick-up truck that would offer a respectable range and impressive hauling abilities, but cost less than today’s $54,780 F-150 Lightning.
Farley has previously hinted that pricing will be under $30,000 (around £23,000 / AU$46,000) for the cheapest products on the upcoming platform, according to Inside EVs, but didn’t go as far to state exactly what those products would be.
We can also expect to see an SUV make that list, as Ford doesn’t currently sell the Explorer or the Capri outside of Europe, seeing as both of those cars were a platform-sharing exercise with Volkswagen.
Dig under the skin, and you’ll see that they share most of their parts with the ID.4 with disappointing results, but this all new skunkworks platform would allow the company to have greater control over an SUV that would appeal more to the US market and could rival a slew of excellent models from Kia, Hyundai, Chevrolet and Tesla.
Finally, this new all-electric platform could also underpin a second attempt at a full-sized electric pick-up truck that could not only undercut the current F-150 Lightning, but also cost a lot less than a Rivian R1T, Chevy Silverado EV and Tesla’s failing Cybertruck.
