Ford’s ‘Next Model T Moment’ starts with a medium -sized electric truck of $ 30,000 – Jalopnik

When Ford told us that the upcoming announcement would mark the ‘next model T -moment’ of the automaker, we did not know exactly what we could expect, but we knew it would be something electric. Probably it would also be something affordable, but how affordable were we talking? Would it be a sedan? Another crossover? A truck? Well, today is the big day, and it appears that the unveiling of what Ford calls the Universal EV platform and the Universal EV production system means that the answer will probably be “all the above”. But the first vehicle we will see is a medium -sized electric truck.

According to Ford, the still non-mentioned four-door truck “will have a targeted starting price of approximately $ 30,000” and will go on sale in 2027. It will also have more passenger space than the new Toyota RAV4, not counting the bed or the frunk room and speeding up just as quickly as the four -cylinder mustang. That probably means a sub-five second 0-60 mph time. Expect that it also offers a lockable Tonneau coverage to keep what you throw in the bed safely. It will also be built in the Louisville Assembly factory of Ford and reportedly a lower ownership costs than a Tesla model Y.

Exact prices and other specifications are only revealed at a later date, so we still don’t know what kind of range this truck will have, but we do know that the lithium-iron phosphate batteries will use that are both nickel and cobalt-free. That should be better for the planet, but according to Ford it is also better for production and property, because the battery pack can be lighter and smaller, which reduces more space for passengers and reduce the weight of the vehicle. Moreover, they must be cheaper to build and they also last longer than the traditional batteries used in EVs.

From its sound, the new Universal EV platform and the universal EV production system are actually quite big steps ahead. Ford says that the new platform uses 20% fewer parts compared to a typical vehicle and 25% fewer fasteners, while assembly requires 40% fewer workstations and can be completed 15% faster. The cable tree on the new truck will also be 4000 feet shorter and 22 pounds lighter than that in the Mach-E. Part of reducing that partial is Ford’s use of large aluminum castings from one piece, so that the need to bribe a bunch of smaller parts and Ford can mount the front and back of the truck separately.

Ford will also enable that process to build up the upcoming truck on three different subassemblag lines instead of one gigantic, and according to Ford the new assembly lines also improve the ergonomics for employees. This will make it possible to build vehicles 40% faster, although Ford says that part of that saved time will be reinvested elsewhere to improve the quality and lower the costs, which still yield a 15% faster total assembly time.

It all sounds great, but we will still have to see the latest specifications and actually control the new truck before we have any idea how successful (or failed) Ford has actually been here. It is easy to talk a big game, but it is a lot harder to deliver the first in a series of vehicles that you claim to be eligible as your “next model T -moment”. Finally, remember how much infiniti spoke about how important the launch of the Infiniti QX50 was, just to launch an overwhelming product that the moment could not meet?

For now, however, we allow Ford to talk to himself, especially because this is ultimately an investment of $ 5 billion in its future that could offer thousands of jobs. In a statement, Ford President and CEO Jim Farley said:

We have chosen a radical approach for a very hard challenge: affordable vehicles create customers in any way that matters – design, innovation, flexibility, space, driving pleasure and ownership costs – and do it with American employees. We have all experienced far too many ‘good college attempts’ by Detroit car manufacturers to make affordable vehicles that end with stationary plants, fired and uncertainty. So this had to be a strong, sustainable and profitable company. From day 1 we knew that there was no incremental path to success. We have removed a small Sunkworks team three time zones from Detroit. We have torn and designed the moving assembly line concept. And we found a path to be the first automaker to make prismatic LFP batteries in the US “

Especially the LFP batteries sound like they have a lot of potential, and an electric truck of $ 30,000 would be a big problem, but now it’s time for Ford to actually make these big promises. Especially the part where it insists that the quality will improve, because it has had a great time with recall actions lately. The mach-e was a solid start and the new truck sounds promising, but will it actually sell? And what about the other vehicles that Ford intends to build on the new platform? Hopefully we will soon get an answer to some of these questions.