Mother of two not-so-small people. Brit expat in Michigan. Global Director, Electric Vehicles, Energy & Battery Tech Comms for Ford. Opinions my own etc
We haven't had much info on @Ford's future mid-size electric pickup truck until today. The vehicle is supposed to launch next year as a 2028 model wtih a starting price of only $30k.
How's Ford doing that? We learned a lot about how it will be built today and I scored an interview with Ford's man in charge of the program, Alan Clarke.
The video's up on SoC, have at it:
https://t.co/qwy59YoFjL
I’ve mulled over the Ford event from yesterday for almost a day now and have several takeaways.
1. Yes, much of this technology in the Ford affordable EV platform shows similarities to Cybertruck. The big difference? This truck will be affordable. Starting price is ~1/3 of CT. Pretty wild.
2. This platform isn’t aimed to compete with US competition, it’s aimed to compete with China. Jim Farley himself has said how far China is ahead of EVERY US automaker. When Ford says “if they succeed,” they are referring to competing with Chinese EVs. This is a big ask.
3. They are calling it a truck but the hyper focus on efficiency and having a smaller battery makes it much more like a car with a bed, in my opinion. Owning an electric truck has 100% showed me that the only electric solution for a truck has to do with BIGGER batteries. When you hook up a trailer, almost nothing other than battery capacity matters. This has been shown numerous times with towing range testing of Rivian vs Lightning vs Cybertruck vs Silverado EV. All of them have almost exactly the same efficiency with a large trailer. This all being said 90% of truck owners don’t tow. This will be phenomenal for them, if they are willing to give up their larger truck.
4. Ford batteries have been pretty rock solid. I believe their LFP packs will be absolutely phenomenal. LFP traditionally doesn’t perform phenomenally (DCFC speeds) but hold up so well.
5. Ford’s gen 1 EVs are absolutely phenomenal. They said being fun to drive was a non-comprisable objective, and I’d bet the farm that this will hold true. I expect this next gen vehicle to be top notch, even at a $30k price point.
So @Fords plan to make 'more affordable EVs' involves swapping to a 48v low voltage wiring system, just like the Cybertruck. This eliminates 4000ft of wires. AND they're bringing the ECU's from 30 down to 5 like Rivian is doing in their Gen 2 Trucks.
It sounds like the next generation of EV's from Ford is gunna be legit, and cost way less (~$30k) Full video below: https://t.co/8FirWguA9N
Ford isn’t backing away from EVs, we’re democratizing them. Winning this race requires chasing physics, not building bigger batteries. That’s why we developed our Universal Electric Vehicle Platform. In a few days, we’ll share a peek at some of the efficiency innovations that make UEV one of the most important projects in @Ford history.
An early peek at our brilliant team working on the Universal Electric Vehicle project - one of the most audacious and important projects in @Ford's history. American innovation is how we compete and win against China and the rest of the world.
➡️ The team is spending countless hours getting every last drop of aero efficiency on the mid-size electric pickup.
➡️ The best part is no part, but the second-best part is one that serves multiple functions.
➡️ A Ford team member working on the front end of a prototype - one of the hundreds of prototypes the team has designed and developed to shape the face of the truck over the last few years.
➡️ Ford will use large unicastings for the first time on the Universal EV Platform. The radically simplified aluminum unicastings condense over 146 parts into 2 and enable the assembly tree method at the Louisville Assembly Plant.
Can't wait to share more!
@USlightningclub - Had a Great time assisting with the Coatesville Christmas Parade the https://t.co/fMGsYGkItA !
Our Lightning provided power to the main broadcast cam and the announcing / judges table…and there was another Red Lightning XLT in the Parade!
@Ford@ebergg
It’s been a rough week, had a death in the family and it’s hit us hard. Wasn’t sure if I was going to make it to @ElectrifyExpo in Austin as I promised. I had my flight booked and almost all details locked in. My adopted @Ford family reached out see if I was attending. When I tell yall they took care of me, made life much easier and provided condolences, this is why I am a loyal Ford fan. Thank you @chargedupemily for communicating and checking on me. The right words at the right time helps TREMENDOUSLY. Emily, you did an amazing job setting up a successful Cars and Coffee! I’ve assisted with events and it’s no easy feat, you made it look easy and things were perfect. Thanks for also reaching out to JackRabbit bikes to loan me a bike for cruising the show. Being on crutches and Navigating the show would’ve been challenging. Thank you. It’s the little things like that that makes all the difference. @ebergg you are so lovely and comforting with your words! James, Robert, Omar, Marty and the rest of the team, thank you.
Another evening utilizing @ford@FordTrucks F150 Lightning Pro Power to preserve the solar charge our home batteries eeked out from today’s snowstorm.
Drove down on a muddy road in a rainstorm, returned home on snowy roads.
@ToyoTires Open Country AT tires performed flawlessly. @jimfarley98 the team should consider delivering the Lightning with the EV AT variant!
@electric_jake@ebergg