Ford to Launch Affordable $30K BEV Pickup in 2027 with Modular Assembly

Ford plans to launch a $30,000 BEV pickup truck in 2027, using its new Universal Electric Vehicle Platform. The platform will be assembled using modular production, making it more affordable. The truck will be the first vehicle off the platform and is set to be sold in the US. Ford CEO Jim Farley believes this will help the company compete with low-cost Chinese BEV manufacturers.

Ford Motor Company is set to revolutionize the electric vehicle (EV) market with the launch of a $30,000 BEV pickup truck in 2027. The vehicle, which will be the first off the company's new Universal Electric Vehicle Platform, is designed to be highly affordable and competitive with low-cost Chinese BEV manufacturers. The platform will be assembled using a modular production process, promising efficiency and reduced costs.

Ford CEO Jim Farley announced the project during a livestream from the company's Louisville full-size SUV plant, emphasizing the need for a radical approach to create an affordable vehicle that delights customers. The new truck will feature endless configurability, ample space for five people and their gear, low maintenance, a good range, and a lower cost of ownership compared to traditional internal-combustion-engine pickups. Farley likened the project to a "Model T" moment for the automaker, referencing Henry Ford's revolutionary approach to making cars accessible to the average worker.

The new BEV truck will be built using a modular assembly process in the form of a tree design, with three subassembly lines working in parallel to reduce the time to build from start to finish. Ford has eliminated three-quarters of the body parts of a traditional pickup, removing 4,000 feet of electrical wiring and significantly reducing the number of parts and fasteners [1].

Ford plans to invest a total of $5 billion in the project, including $2 billion to modernize the Louisville plant and $3 billion at its Blue Oval battery park in Michigan to produce cheaper lithium iron phosphate batteries using licensed technology from China's CATL [2]. The company aims to make the new truck 40% faster to assemble than current models, with the goal of creating a more efficient and cost-effective production process.

The launch of the $30,000 BEV pickup truck is a significant move for Ford, which has been facing challenges in the EV market. While the company has made progress with its current slate of BEV models, such as the Lightning pickup truck and Mustang Mach-E SUV, industry watchers have noted that these models have not been heavily updated since their launches in 2022 and 2021, respectively. The new platform and production strategy aim to flip the EV business into the green, as Ford seeks to compete with the likes of Tesla and low-cost Chinese BEV manufacturers.

References:

[1] https://www.wardsauto.com/industry/ford-launching-new-30-000-bev-pickup-with-modular-assembly-in-2027
[2] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fords-new-ev-will-be-a-midsize-pickup-built-using-an-all-new-production-process-and-platform-143040911.html