Ford says it will launch a cheapest electric pickup truck: NPR

Ford makes a bet on billions of dollars on electric cars.

At the Luisfille Assembly Factory in Kentucky on Monday morning, Ford executives announced that they were planning to re -equip the factory so that they can launch a medium -sized pickup truck within $ 30,000 in 18 months.

It will not only be cheap for the electric car, but at a competitive price of a truck – a period. The FORD of the F-150 Lightning and Chevrolet Silvedo Ev begins about $ 50,000. Among their competitors, Tesla Cybletruck starts with more than $ 62,000, and the cheapest countryside is more than $ 70,000. On the side of the gas, in the meantime, the gas -based Ford Ranger, which works with gas, begins with $ 35,000.

This is not the first time that Ford is betting on EVS. Lightning, a full -sized Beck App, was an ambitious way when it first appeared in 2022, but Ford was never able to earn money on it. It is a similar story with Mustang Mach-E. Plan for large electrical four -wheel drive cars to stop in 2024.

Now Ford is heading towards EVS a little smaller, much cheaper – and doing it properly because the EV industry in the United States faces the large opposite winds, including the Trump administration’s efforts to decline policies that enhance EVS and fight climate change in general.

On Monday, the Ford executive managers did not explain that the future is clean, green or environmentally aware. Instead, one word ruled today: At a reasonable price.

This has been the goal for a long time for a number of car manufacturers: a truly EV at reasonable prices-one competes with gasoline cars when it comes to the price of the stickers provided, without the collaboration in government subsidies or savings from not using gasoline. There are no small details, it should be profitable for companies as well.

Chinese auto manufacturers have broken this symbol, and Western auto manufacturers are painfully aware of the need to catch up with a knee. Tesla was annoying a cheaper car for years, and CEO Elon Musk says it is so In fact, this year is coming. Chevrolet is about to re -remedy the Terbas.

At a $ 30,000 price point, Ford believes it can open a wide range of buyers who are not seduced by Evs Pricier Farks at the present time. “It is a radically better proposal for some customers, who receive fees at home, do not go to long distances, less than 300 miles,” said Jim Farley, CEO of reporters after the event.

Ford’s plan focuses on a great simplification of the car and breaking it into three separate pieces, which will be built in parallel and then combined together.

It is still ambitious. “There is a danger,” Farli said. “The auto industry contains a cemetery full of compounds at reasonable prices that were launched in our country with all good intentions. It has faded.”

But after canceling the large electrical SUVs and recently delay Of the next generation of fully-sized electric trucks and trucks, Ford held this wonderful event in Luisville to explain that it is moving forward-really-with this project.

Political opposite winds, global facts

Technically, what Ford announced is not just one vehicle but rather a vehicle platform, which will eventually be adapted to a variety of vehicles that were all built in the same way. It will be assembled in Kentucky with low -cost lithium iron phosphate batteries in Marshall, Michigan. In general, it is an investment of $ 5 billion for Ford.

The Kentucky Factory, which is currently making Ford Eskan and Lincoln Corsiere, will be concluded for renovations and will reopen it and will reopen it with 2200 jobs, less than 600 people more than it works. (Farley said that there will be no hairstyles.) The Marshall Factory, which has faced an uncertain future, will now be opened to open with about 1700 created jobs.

It may seem strange to the company to boast of the main EV project. President Trump, followed by the campaign promise, systematically dismantle the incentives and regulations that prompted car manufacturers to make more EVS. The demand for battery -powered cars has become less than car makers’ expectations, and with the end of federal tax credits at the end of September, this trend is expected to slow down.

But Farley has been clear for years so far that getting EVS at a competitive price is an existential priority for Ford – and other car networks.

Chinese car manufacturers are pushing the markets around the world through attractive electric cars and prices competitively. If global auto manufacturers are not able to compete, they can end with a shrink share of the global auto market.

Speaking to reporters after the event on Monday, Farley said that in some aspects of engineering, it is impossible to compete with companies such as BYD, the Chinese EV giant. “Their batteries will be cheaper than our batteries,” he said. “They have 120,000 power train engineers. We got 1200.” The non -mentioned left: the super battery, the cheerful output technology and the important government subsidies from the Chinese government.

However, he said, Ford might be more efficient until the car needs less The battery is its Chinese competitors. “The only way to compete with them is innovation,” he said. “This is what we did. This is our bet.”

Is it possible?

Farley intentionally used the word “bet”, which shows that there is no guarantee for success. Making the budget -square -price vehicles represents a challenge that defeated Detroit car manufacturers before, and Ford’s history with EVS includes many misconceptions and lost money. In reference to these previous challenges, Ford’s executive managers said repeatedly that the new car should be “sustainable” – a sign that is not the environmental benefits of EVS but to the need for the car to be sustainable like a a job The proposal.

And the risk of danger, companies do not always achieve the goals of their initial price; The F-150 Lightning and Cybletruck promise to start starting from $ 40,000, which is the price that they have already previously.

“Although there is no guarantee that Ford can withdraw this, the goal of the new price is” reasonable “, said Sam Epillavid, the deputy head of market research at Automotive Insights FIRM, that although there is no guarantee that Ford can withdraw this, the goal of the new price is” reasonable “, said Sam Epillavid, Vice President of Market Research at Automotive Insights FIRM.

“Most of what we know yet about what Ford is not completely new,” he said. Ford plans to reduce costs and complexity using a small number of very large metal pieces of the truck, instead of a large number of small pieces; This is a pioneering Tesla innovation. The battery will be used as a car component for the car; Tesla and Chinese manufacturers also did so. There is a busy record of these strategies; The new is for the main Legacy brand to implement it together.

The car itself is somewhat mysterious. There was no initial model on the stage inside the varied Luisville assembly factory and there are no pictures on the screen. Instead, Farley stood next to a classic T truck as he was called the new T -shot of the company.

While he made promises about the advantages of high and future technology, executive managers told the factory that they could look forward to a more worldly benefit from the investment of $ 2 billion: When the factory reopens next year, Ford Vice President Prys Corrie said to the collected workers, and the air-more cold heat was heated.