Ford is calling it another Model T moment, anoucing their new EV platform. New ways (for Ford) to manufacture, like unicastings, and materials like LFP batteries.
Sounds like they learned a lot from Tesla manufacturing. Maybe they will follow them on their 48-volt architecture too. Would LOVE to see a FORD PGEV pickup with ~150 miles RANGE, & DCQC. AFAIK Dodge is beating them to the punch with that.
Personally I'm not a fan of 48V systems. I get that they are better, but just like LED bulbs for the house, they cause more problems (for me personally) than they fix. From what I understand Ford wants to compete with not only Tesla, but also make their own version of the Slate truck, at least in size and price.
Meanwhile, Dodge 'may' be leaning back the other way...... https://www.autoweek.com/news/a65630450/dodge-charger-hellcat-return-speculation/ Hey....they tried to replace the Hellcat Challenger with an EV, They were even going to use haptic feedback in the car to imitate an 'authentic V8.' ......the new cars could do more than just create a convincing synthetic engine note. In fact, in the patents it appears as if there will be a secondary contraption called the Active Vibration Enhancement (AVE) system to generate "vibrations within the vehicle's structure..." Hellcats were all supposed to be gone by now but........ Me? I think we can have it BOTH ways!! I'm a bit of an EV booster, but I also want to live in a world where there is a car maker who will offer a three-row SUV with 8 seatbelts, an 8000# towing capacity, and still be able to make commercials like THIS: https://youtube.com/shorts/EbK628p8PPU?si=Uh1zV5yfcL5RE_L_
Yeah, who knows. It's like this with Ford. One day Car Coach Reports says Ford is dropping most of their EV plans in favor of gasoline, especially boosting V8 sales. Then the next day Ford announces they've got a whole new EV plan and are investing billions more in EVs. As far as having both, I'd imagine they'd figure out how to make a 3 row SUV EV with 8,000 lbs towing with a 300 mile range for as cheap as the V8 before they get rid of the V8.
They're bleeding cash and losing money on every EV they "sell". Lost more than a billion last quarter. I predict a mostly plastic truck that's held together by zip ties, glue, and lots of pray. Look under the hood of current Ford products, everything is one-time-use. They won't even spring for hose clamps..... With tariffs ON, how are they going to source the raw materials for their fantasy builds? Who's paying $87K for a Ford Lighting? So now they decided to do mass production and a car for the masses again. Good Luck.....
Eh, Ford's losses are mostly in the form of front loading the R&D investment for the EV division onto the cars sold today. It is the same accounting used to claim the Volt, Teslas, and even the Prius were losing money per unit sold for cars priced to cover their production costs plus profit.
isn't that the same line used against PRIUS gen II's ? & in fact they WERE likely losing their shirts in those early days - but it was forward thinking into the modern day benefit of electrification. Blood is necessary sometimes
In the first years, I call it 'tuition in the school of hard knocks.' My 2003 Prius had some dozy limitations but learning how to drive around them, I achieved 52 MPG City and Highway: Minimize warm-up duration and load. Speeds never exceed 65-70 mph range. Air inlet block when below 50 F. A/C only above temperatures ~85 F (humid) to ~92 F (dry) Later model years with improved engineering reduced or eliminated many of these restrictions. Bob Wilson
There are two ways to get car manufacturers to move to new technologies. One is through government incentives and disincentives (tax credits, tariffs, etc.). The other is the possibility of clients preferring that tech in the competition. In this case it seems Ford is afraid of BYD. EVs still seem to be the future, and lollygagging along with gasoline cars could make staying ahead of the competition very difficult.