• Ford wants to offer a low-cost electric pickup truck and SUV starting in 2026.
This past February, Ford held a conference call to discuss its fourth-quarter 2023 financial results. On that occasion, company CEO Jim Farley announced the automaker is working on an electric vehicle platform that would lead to more affordable models, in order to better compete with Tesla as well as Chinese automakers.
According to Bloomberg, this new direction has led Ford to postpone its plans for a seven-seat electric SUV.
The new platform would accommodate two models, an SUV and a pickup truck, both of which are expected to be compact. Both products are scheduled for 2026, probably in the second half of that year.
What's interesting, on paper, is that these vehicles would start at $25,000 USD, or around $30,000 to $35,000 CAD. Other manufacturers, including Tesla, have already expressed interest in offering an electric vehicle at that price point. The first manufacturer to succeed in doing so will of course have an advantage, provided its model can prove profitable in the long term.
Jim Farley insisted that the project must be profitable after its first year on the market. For the time being, we know that the company loses money with each electric model sold, when the investments in EV R&D are factored in.
As for the type of batteries to be used, lithium iron phosphate batteries could be the choice. This would save around 30 percent compared with traditional lithium-ion batteries, according to CarBuzz. The company does want to remain flexible about using other technologies in the future, if they can help bring prices down.
It’s worth noting that on Team Ford for this plan is one Alan Clarke, who left Tesla to join Ford in 2022. He spent over ten years designing the Tesla Model Y, and he is now he's at the helm of the American automaker's affordable electric vehicle project.
What's next will be interesting. Many consumers are just waiting for more affordable electric vehicles to make the transition.