Image Credit: Captain Electro.
The Blue Oval has decided that the first pancake was indeed a bit burnt. After looking at the electric F-150 and thinking, "Well, that was a bit heavy, right?", Ford is having another go. And this time, they promise it won't cost you a kidney and your firstborn child.
Ford is teasing a new mid-size electric pickup, and the headline figure is enough to make any man drop his wallet in shock: $30,000. I know - thirty grand for an electric pickup. Considering that a decent sandwich costs fifteen bucks, that is a properly bold claim. CEO Jim Farley reckons these affordable EVs are "right around the corner." Though knowing the auto industry, that corner might be on a race track that's twenty miles long.
Image Credit: Ford.
Why the sudden generosity? It's not out of the goodness of their hearts, I'm afraid. It's because the Chinese automakers, specifically BYD, are literally eating everyone's lunch, dinner, and midnight snacks across Europe and South America. Ford has realized that unless they do something radical, they'll be left selling souvenir keychains. So, they came up with the "Universal EV platform." Sci-fi movie much? "Captain, engage the Universal EV Platform!"
This platform is supposedly the secret sauce. Farley calls it a "radical approach" to create vehicles that delight us in design, space, and - most importantly - cost. They are building the first truck at the Louisville Assembly Plant, and the engineering involves some serious wizardry. They're using Tesla's idea of "large unicastings" - instead of welding 146 little metal bits together to make the floor, they're just smashing it out in two giant pieces. It's like building a Lego set, but cheating by using the mega-blocks.
Image Credit: Jim Farley/Ford.
Ford says the new truck will have a lower cost of ownership than a Tesla Model Y and more space than a Toyota RAV4. An odd comparison, but we'll take it. They are obsessed with aerodynamics too, spending "countless hours" making sure this brick of a truck slips through the air like a well-greased brick of truck...
But here is the delicious bit of irony that tickles my funny bone. Ford says this is all about "American innovation" winning against China. Yet, to hit that magical $30,000 price tag, they are using Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) batteries. And where is that tech coming from? They're licensing it from CATL. Which is... Chinese. What a brilliant strategy... Beat them by joining them, then putting an American flag on the bumper.
When can we buy this marvel of cost-cutting and geopolitical confusion? Ford says sales might start next year. That's a bit of a wait, but it gives us plenty of time to save up the pennies. The downside of the waiting game is that this is enough time for the inflation to turn that $30,000 into $50,000.
I'm skeptical, as ever. I've seen more promised revolutions than I've had hot dinners. But if Ford can actually pull off a proper electric truck for the price of a mid-spec hatchback, I'll be the first to do a jig. Until then, I'll keep my expectations firmly locked up.
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