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Ford Bets $5B on a Radical $30K Electric Pickup to Rival Tesla and Chinese EV Giants
Ford is gearing up for its boldest EV play yet: a midsize electric pickup truck with a starting price of around $30,000, set to debut in 2027. The announcement marks a significant pivot in Ford’s electric strategy, aiming to undercut competitors like Tesla, Rivian, and up-and-coming Chinese automakers on price—while keeping production firmly in the United States.
The truck will roll out of Ford’s Louisville, Kentucky, plant, where the company is investing nearly $2 billion to retool operations. In total, Ford is putting $5 billion into its Kentucky and Michigan facilities to produce the pickup and its lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries. The new assembly process—dubbed the “assembly tree”—is a radical departure from Henry Ford’s century-old moving assembly line, allowing components to be built in three parallel streams before coming together. The change, CEO Jim Farley says, will cut production time by 40% and reduce costs significantly.
This isn’t just a manufacturing milestone; it’s a direct challenge to the cost efficiency of Chinese EV makers like BYD, who can produce vehicles for $10,000 to $25,000 thanks to streamlined supply chains. While Chinese models haven’t yet entered the U.S. market, they’ve set a new affordability standard that American automakers can’t ignore.
“We had to take a completely radical approach to redesign the vehicle to make it affordable and profitable here in Kentucky,” Jim Farley said during Monday’s announcement. “For people that just commute and can charge at home, an EV can be a really good solution.”
Ford’s upcoming pickup is being developed by its California-based “skunkworks” team, led by former Tesla executive Alan Clarke. Operating largely outside the main corporate structure, the team’s mission has been to design a profitable, mass-market EV from the ground up—a stark contrast to Ford’s earlier EV strategy of electrifying existing gasoline models.
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Affordability is key to Ford’s plan. According to J.D. Power, the average EV sold for about $47,000 in June 2024. By targeting the $30K mark, Ford hopes to open up the EV market to budget-conscious buyers who may have been deterred by high sticker prices. The new pickup will also cater to drivers with shorter daily ranges, ideal for commuting and local errands, reducing reliance on public charging infrastructure.
The move comes as Ford scales back some of its earlier EV ambitions due to mounting losses—nearly $10 billion over 2023 and 2024. Still, Farley expects the new EV family to be profitable within its first year of production.
While details on specs and range remain under wraps, Ford’s $30K electric pickup is poised to be a pivotal model in the U.S. EV race, potentially redefining what “affordable electric vehicle” means in the American market. With a world-class design team, innovative manufacturing, and a price that undercuts most rivals, Ford is betting big that it can compete not just with Tesla—but with the global EV leaders of tomorrow.
