Ford Bets Big on $30K EV Truck & Universal Production System
Ford is poised to disrupt the electric vehicle market, announcing plans for a new midsize pickup truck in 2027 with an ambitious target price of just $30,000. This unnamed vehicle will spearhead a new generation of more affordable Ford EVs, underpinned by a freshly designed flexible vehicle platform and powered by US-made prismatic lithium iron phosphate batteries.
For several years, a dedicated Ford team has been operating far from the company’s Dearborn, Michigan, headquarters. Sequestered in Long Beach, California, and drawing inspiration from Lockheed’s renowned “skunkworks” projects, the Electric Vehicle Development Center has approached the design and construction of Ford’s next EV family with a clean slate. This innovative approach reportedly takes cues from the Chinese electric vehicles that have significantly impressed Ford’s CEO.
Designing an EV from the ground up, unburdened by decades of legacy constraints, is a sound strategy, though not exclusive to Ford. The industry has seen a rise in “software-defined vehicles” (SDVs), which streamline automotive electronics by replacing dozens, or even hundreds, of discrete single-function electronic control units with a handful of powerful modern computers, known as domain controllers, networked at high speeds. Doug Field, Ford’s chief EV, digital, and design officer, emphasized that this upcoming Ford model “isn’t a stripped‑down, old‑school vehicle,” a pointed comparison to other recently revealed minimalist EVs. He added that the company “applied first‑principles engineering, pushing to the limits of physics to make it fun to drive and compete on affordability. Our new zonal electric architecture unlocks capabilities the industry has never seen.”
While Ford has faced its share of challenges, even shelving one software-defined architecture earlier this year, it is not alone in this complex endeavor; Volkswagen Group, for instance, similarly overextended its ambitions, later investing heavily in Rivian to navigate its own difficulties.
Specifics about the new pickup remain scarce, given its two-year lead time to showrooms. Ford indicates its exterior dimensions will be comparable to a Maverick, yet it will offer interior space akin to or exceeding that of a Toyota RAV4. Features will include both a front trunk (frunk) and a traditional bed, with acceleration performance matching an EcoBoost Mustang. The 400-volt LFP battery pack is expected to be about 15 percent smaller than the average US EV pack, though details on charge times, battery capacity, or range estimates are not yet available.
Crucially, the path to making these EVs more affordable lies in radically simplified and accelerated manufacturing. Ford’s streamlined SDV domains mean the wiring harness will require 4,000 feet (1.3 km) less copper. The new process boasts 40 percent fewer workstations, 20 percent fewer components, and 25 percent fewer fasteners than a conventional Ford vehicle, resulting in an overall assembly time that is 15 percent faster than Ford’s current average.
Like other modern automotive factories, Ford has prioritized worker ergonomics in its new production system. Parts will arrive at workstations in pre-kitted packages, complete with all necessary fasteners, scanners, and power tools, even pre-oriented for immediate use. While these efficiencies are remarkable, the reduction in workstations and parts unfortunately translates to approximately 600 fewer workers at the Louisville Assembly Plant when production commences in 2027.
Ford’s innovative production line is split into three distinct segments: one for the front subassembly, another for the rear subassembly, and a third for the battery pack and interior. These three large modules then converge for final assembly. This approach is enabled by a shift to large, single-piece castings for the front and rear subframes. Doug Field underscored the novelty of this method, stating, “There are other people that use large-scale castings but not in the way we do. We know of no one that has ever built a vehicle in three parts in this way and brought it together at the end.” Alan Clarke, executive director of advanced EV development, added that “no platform has been so blank-slate, architected around having a large subassembly that you can put a whole bunch of parts on.”
Despite the groundbreaking nature of this new production process, it is not expected to become the norm across all Ford vehicle lines. Kumar Galhotra, Ford’s chief operating officer, noted that while certain elements of the assembly system could be applied more broadly, the full scale of this innovation is “very uniquely built for EV vehicles.” This suggests the process is well-suited for smaller unibody EVs but will not be as applicable to Ford’s forthcoming body-on-frame pickups, including the delayed “T3” electric replacement for the F-150 Lightning.