Ford switches its electric car focus and is working on a new, affordable EV

Date:
Thu, 08 Feb 2024 19:10:44 +0000

Description:
Reports suggest that Ford is working on its third-generation EV, which will
be smaller and more affordable.

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A report from TechCrunch suggests that Ford is working on its third
generation EV, which increasingly looks like it will focus on more affordable and cost effective models compared to the current line-up.

According to the article, ex-Tesla and Ford Advanced EV development boss Alan Clarke is leading a Ford skunkworks project to develop a low-cost EV platform that could deploy "several types of vehicles," Ford CEO, Jim Farley, stated during a recent fourth-quarter earnings call.

The project, which is said to be about two years old and based in Irvine, California, also features engineers from Auto Motive Power (AMP), a start-up specializing in EV powertrains that Ford acquired in 2023.

But despite ploughing millions into a second-generation platform, which Ford says will underpin an upcoming pick-up and a large, three-row SUV to rival those from Kia and Volvo, it is already looking to the generation beyond
that.

"All of our EVs teams are ruthlessly focused on cost and efficiency in our EV products, because the ultimate competition is going to be the affordable
Tesla and the Chinese OEMs," Farley said, according to TechCrunch.

It is all part of Fords recalibration of its approach to electric vehicles,
as its current heading which seems to focus on large, heavy and expensive SUV and pick-up models is losing money.

Fords current battery-powered models lost $4.7 billion last year, and
projects the losses will grow to as much as $5.5 billion this year, according to Fortune .

Just last year, Ford Motor announced that it was postponing the $12 billion
it had planned to spend on new EV manufacturing capacity, citing the fact
that customers in North America were reluctant to pay the premium demanded by EVs. The calm before the storm (Image credit: TechRadar)

Depending on who you speak to, the EV market appears to be in a state of flux at the moment, with Ford stating that the strongest customer demand for alternative fuel vehicles is for hybrids, not pure EVs. Ford expects sales of those hybrid models to grow 40 per cent this year, up from last years 25 per cent increase.

Whether this is down to waning demand for pure EVs, or simply because Ford isnt offering the right product to the customer, is yet to be seen. That
said, most of the worlds largest automakers appear to be on a push to produce much smaller and more affordable electric models this year and next.

We recently reported on the fact the diminutive Hyundai Casper EV looks set
to branch out of its domestic market in South Korea and into Europe. Similarly, Volkswagen, Renault, Peugeot and Citroen are all poised to launch similarly affordable electric superminis and city cars very soon.

Even Tesla isnt immune to customer backlash on pricing, with Elon Musk
cutting the price of the Model 3 late last year in a bid to drum up sales. In addition to this, rumors suggest we could be seeing Teslas first 25,000 car (around 21,000 / $26,900 / AUS$41,500) produced at its Berlin Gigafactory early as next year.

It feels like now that all of the early adopters and wealthy buyers are out
of the way, automotive brands have to start making electric cars for the people. Something that is etched into Ford's history. You might also like Exclusive: Inside Hyundai's bid to make a Transformers-style 'walking car' Is it actually illegal to drive while wearing an Apple Vision Pro? Surprisingly, it's complicated Ford taps the brakes on its electric car plans here's what that means for EVs



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/vehicle-tech/hybrid-electric-vehicles/ford-switches- its-electric-car-focus-and-is-working-on-a-new-affordable-ev


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