DEARBORN – Amid a flood of new competition, Ford is shifting plans to build more affordable electric vehicles. Ford is developing a new low-cost EV platform to power a small electric pickup and SUV, with starting prices around $25,000. However, due to the pivot, plans for its three-row electric SUV have been put on the back burner.
Although low-cost Chinese passenger EVs, like BYD, are not sold in the US, they are having a big impact on domestic automakers.
Ford’s CEO Jim Farley reiterated his concerns over the low-cost overseas rivals during a Wolfe Research conference last month. Farley explained that if you cannot compete with Chinese automakers, “20% to 30% of your revenue is at risk.”
“As the CEO of a company that had trouble competing with the Japanese and the South Koreans, we have to fix this problem,” Farley said.
Ford learned “pretty quickly to bet on a smaller EV platform.” The American automaker’s leader admitted larger EVs, like the F-150 Lightning, are expensive to build.
Farley said anything “larger than the Escape” better be functional or a work vehicle. Meanwhile, smaller electric cars are different. An Escape-sized EV or smaller “completely works,” Ford’s leader explained.
Not only does it work, but “It’s dramatically better operating cost than a (Toyota) Corolla or a (Honda) Civic or even a (Ford) Maverick.”
During an investor call last month, Farley revealed the company had been “secretly” working on a low-cost EV platform.
Ford put together a “super-talented skunk works team” to create it with “some of the best EV engineers in the world.” The team is led by Alan Clarke, who led the engineering on Tesla’s best-selling Model Y.
To read more, click on Electrek
