Ford begins work on affordable EV platform

Ford is readying an all-new EV platform aimed at the affordable end of the market that will rival the entry-level Tesla models and the ones made by several Chinese brands globally.

In an earnings call, Ford CEO Jim Farley announced that a “skunkworks team”, which was unknown until now, has been working on the development of an all-new EV platform. This team so far has operated as a “startup” outside of the traditional Ford company structure for the last two years. Like most other EV platforms, this particular EV platform will also be flexible and will be able to accommodate multiple types of EVs, especially at the lower end of the EV market.

While Farley did not reveal any specific details of this new EV platform, he did reiterate that the platform’s main goal is low-cost EVs. He also said that EV buyers, once sold on electrification, remain loyal to EVs, but upfront expenses have made the transition slower than initially expected.

With its low-cost nature, this new platform, Farley explained, is intended to combat "affordable Teslas and Chinese EV brands", which he finds as the ultimate competitors in the EV market. The platform will help bring down the prices of its EVs globally. Currently, the Tesla Model Y is priced lower than the Ford Mach-E and the Model 3 sedan is even cheaper. Ford has not made any profit on the Mach-E despite it being one of its more expensive models. Ford aims to change this by bringing in some profits by using the new low-cost EV platform.

Ford’s India re-entry plans

A few weeks ago, Ford filed a patent in India for the latest-gen Endeavour SUV. The brand had also listed a few job openings and made a U-turn on the sale of its Chennai plant. These developments sparked speculation of a possible return of Ford to India. Read more on that here.

Also see:

Ford India posts profits of Rs 505 crore in FY2023

Tata starts building Nexon at former Ford plant in Gujarat