- Ford is already testing its $30,000 electric vehicles.
- Tooling installation at the Louisville, Kentucky, plant will begin later this year, the company’s CEO, Jim Farley, said.
- Ford is also on track to start manufacturing LFP cells at its battery plant in Marshall, Michigan.
Ford is wasting no time in developing its upcoming affordable electric pickup truck, which is expected to have a starting price of about $30,000. After revealing very little information about the vehicle itself back in August, when it focused on the potentially game-changing assembly procedures, the American automaker is back with new details.
The first vehicle based on Ford’s new Universal EV platform (UEV) is already being tested in the real world, and the component sourcing is nearly complete, according to the company’s head honcho, Jim Farley.
Ford Universal EV Platform Pickup
Photo by: Ford
What’s more, the Louisville plant in Kentucky, which used to assemble the gas-powered Ford Escape and Lincoln Corsair, will start getting new equipment installed later this year. Around the same time, the automaker will also start churning out lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells at its battery manufacturing facility in Marshall, Michigan, which will power the entry-level EV.
“This is not a distant plan, it’s right around the corner for us at Ford,” Farley said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call late last month. “Sourcing is at 95% complete now. We are testing vehicles. Will begin installing equipment in Louisville for the UEV later this year, and we are on track to start production of our LFP cells at the Marshall, Michigan, plant later this year.”
It’s no secret that Ford has postponed several new electric models, but it has done so to fast-track its revolutionary new platform, which does away with the traditional assembly line. In the new system, the rear, center and front sections of the vehicle are assembled on separate lines and then joined together toward the end. The company, which stands by its 2027 reveal deadline, says this new method saves a lot of money and makes manufacturing faster.
As for the batteries that will power the new Maverick-sized pickup, the entry-level version is poised to get LFP cells instead of the more traditional nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) type. LFP batteries are cheaper to make and can withstand full charging cycles more often, but they offer less energy density compared to a similarly-sized NMC pack. Whatever the chemistry, though, the carmaker made it clear that the batteries will run at 400 volts, and not 800 volts.
Ford hasn’t revealed exact numbers yet, but it mentioned that it’s aiming for a battery that’s 15% smaller than that of the Chinese-made BYD Atto electric crossover, which would mean a capacity of around 51 kilowatt-hours. That’s not a lot by modern standards, but if the company manages to keep the weight down, the secretive new EV could have just enough range for most people.
