Ford will follow Tesla Cybertruck with electric technology in new EV pickup

The system, known as a 48-volt electrical architecture, had been discussed in the automotive industry for decades Tesla was the first to bring it to consumers in 2023.

The automotive industry has traditionally used a 12-volt system with a lead-acid battery for all vehicles to power the car’s accessories, but that has been problematic and caused recalls for many electric vehicles. The new architecture instead uses the EV’s high-voltage battery to power everything.

The 48-volt system improves efficiency, provides additional electrical bandwidth and saves weight by reducing wiring, officials say. Power can also be “reduced” to 12 volts if necessary, through the use of new electronic control units, or ECUs, which can handle different groups of an EV’s architecture.

The new electric system is one of several innovations that Ford believes will allow its next-generation electric vehicles – starting with a $30,000 small electric pickup in 2027 – to compete with Tesla and fast-growing Chinese brands in global markets.

“At Ford, we have taken on the challenge that many others have stopped taking. We are taking on our competition, including the Chinese,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said at an event in August at a factory in Kentucky where the unnamed electric pickup will be produced. “For far too long, legacy automakers have played it safe.”

Farley calls it a “Model T moment” for the company, referring to the company’s flagship vehicle that came to market more than a century ago and led to mass vehicle adoption in the early 20th century. He also calls it a “gamble” for Ford, given the amount of changes it will make to its electric cars, as well as to the company and its processes.

Ford expects the new EVs, which will be based on a common “Universal Electric Vehicle” or UEV, to have similar costs to gas-powered vehicles thanks to new technologies and efficiencies. Currently, the massive batteries that power EVs have made them much more expensive to produce and have become notoriously unprofitable.

The Detroit automaker has said the new EVs will reduce the number of parts by 20% compared to a typical vehicle, with 25% fewer fasteners, 40% fewer dock-to-dock workstations in the factory and 15% faster assembly time.

“It represents the most radical change in the way we design and build vehicles at Ford since the Model T,” Farley said at the plant. “Now it’s time to change the game again.”

Ford said these improvements, as well as price points more comparable to gas-powered models, will lead to greater adoption of electric vehicles. That’s despite a significant slowdown in electric vehicle sales in the U.S. amid changes in federal support from the Trump administration and lower-than-expected consumer adoption.

According to Cox Automotive, U.S. electric vehicle sales peaked in September, before federal stimulus expired, at 10.3% of the new vehicle market. That demand plummeted in the fourth quarter to preliminary estimates of 5.8%.

These market conditions recently led Ford to announce $19.5 billion in writedowns, largely related to scaling back its EV plans, but the company said it will continue to invest $5 billion in its new UEV platform through 2027.

“Our focus has been on giving them everything they would get in a nice car and more, and we think that ultimately allows us to not only make an affordable car, but also make one that is extremely desirable,” Alan Clarke, Ford’s executive director of advanced EV development, said during a media briefing.

The 48-volt system provides significant benefits to other parts of the vehicle beyond just the battery, and is expected to continue to do so as the bandwidth of 12-volt batteries is maximized, said Clarke, a former Tesla executive.

“It’s less expensive, has smaller wires and is the future of the automotive industry,” he said. “So if you want to protect this platform in the future so that it can survive for more than a decade… it’s very clear that 48 made the most sense.”

Ford said the wiring harness in the new midsize truck will be more than 4,000 feet shorter and 50 pounds lighter than the wiring harness used in Ford’s first-generation electric SUV.

CEO of Tesla Elon Musk sent competitors like Ford and General engines a ‘how-to’ guide to developing a 48-volt system by 2023.

Clarke said Ford had already opted for a 48-volt platform before receiving the letter, but it “certainly added fuel to the fire” and was a “useful starting point to see how they felt about it.” It also helped suppliers prepare to assist with 48-volt systems, he added.

In addition to the 48-volt system, the company released additional details on Tuesday about how it is achieving its goals with the new EV through aerodynamics. team “premiums” to increase vehicle efficiency and turn to Tesla’s pioneering ‘gigacastings’.

Gigacasting is a manufacturing process that can replace dozens of traditionally small, stamped parts with larger pieces. The process requires enormous machines to pressurize large sheets of metal into parts such as a vehicle’s dashboard or the underlying structure.

Ford said the new pickup will have just two front and rear structural members, compared to 146 such components on the current gas-powered Maverick small pickup.

Ford also said that the aluminum castings for the upcoming EV are more than 27% lighter than those of a Tesla Model Y.

“We are still in the midst of a very steep decline in EV costs, and you can only achieve that by innovating, and you can only achieve that at the system level, by optimizing into what ultimately becomes a product that a customer wants,” Clarke said.