Prime Highlights
- Ford is aiming to launch a $30,000 midsize electric pickup by 2027 on a new universal EV platform and streamlined “assembly-tree” process.
- The automaker is investing $5 billion in U.S. facilities to secure domestic battery manufacturing and boost manufacturing efficiency.
Key Fact
- Ford will spend $2 billion to modernize its Louisville assembly plant and $3 billion on a Michigan LFP battery factory.
- The fresh design reduces parts by 20%, declutters wiring, and is capable of speeding up production by up to 40%.
Key Background
Ford Motor Co. is positioning itself for an EV comeback with what CEO Jim Farley calls the automaker’s “Model T moment.” At the heart of the plan is a new universal electric vehicle platform that will first show up in a midsize, four-door electric pickup truck around $30,000 and due out in 2027.
The initiative will be preceded by a $5 billion investment where $2 billion will be spent on retooling the Louisville assembly plant and $3 billion on the construction of a domestic lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery factory in Michigan. The move will aim to achieve U.S.-based battery production, lower costs, and minimize overdependence on foreign supply chains, all for the purposes of enhancing Ford’s competitiveness in a tightening EV market.
Ford’s manufacturing makeover replaces the traditional linear assembly line with a modular “assembly-tree” method. Vehicles will be built in three large segments—front, middle, and rear—before being put together in the final stages. The process will cut the total number of parts by 20%, lower fastener needs, improve workers’ ergonomics, and speed up assembly by up to 15%, with overall production potentially increasing 40%.
The new truck will marry performance and value, with as much acceleration as the Mustang, floor-mounted structural battery, spacious interior, and practical front trunk. Although the boldness of the plan is noted, Farley doesn’t dismiss the risk, especially in the wake of Ford’s electric vehicle business losing $1.33 billion for the second quarter of 2025 and the phasing out of some federal incentives on EV purchasers.
However, the company is sure that the synergies of design innovation, local manufacturing, and low-cost engineering will help Ford turn a profit on electric vehicles while competing head-on against established EV leaders Tesla and BYD.
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