While the majority of EVs sold in the US cost more than $35,000, Ford’s new model is best suited for those with lower budgets.
The former chief of engineering at Tesla, Alan Clarke, is apparently leading a project at Ford to bring an electric vehicle that is both affordable and environmentally friendly to the market in the United States. During the earnings call that took place on Tuesday for the fourth quarter of 2023, Ford executives highlighted that the “skunkworks” project has developed into something that is worthy of being incorporated into the bigger electrification goals that the carmaker has.
“Two years ago, we made a bet anonymously,” stated Jim Farley, the CEO of the company. For the purpose of developing a low-cost electric vehicle platform, we assembled a highly skilled skunkworks team. It was a tiny organization, a small team, and it was independent from the Ford mothership. Some of the top electric vehicle engineers in the world were represented on the team. It was a small business.”
Despite the fact that Farley’s comments are ambiguous, they are consistent with the judgments that Ford made regarding its restructure approximately two years ago. During the month of March in the year 2022, Farley made the announcement that Ford Motor Company will be operating various divisions, each of which would be focused on their respective vehicle categories. For example, “Model e” would only entail electric vehicles, “Ford Blue” would emphasize the automaker’s most historic nameplates,. Despite the fact that the Mustang Mach E SUV and the F-150 Lightning were the most visible symbols of the Model E, the division also left room for new electric vehicles, battery technology, and charging alternatives.
On the other hand, Ford’s unconventional electric vehicle initiative places a strong emphasis on being economical. Farley stated on Tuesday that the “early majority customer” is “not willing to pay a significant premium for electric vehicles.” This statement came only a second after he mentioned that Ford was shifting its focus toward “smaller electric vehicle products.” According to Farley, in order for Ford to achieve success with its Model e division and appeal to a wider variety of customers, the company should concentrate on total revenue rather than individual electric vehicle units.
Immediately after the results call, TechCrunch confirmed with Ford that Clarke is the person in charge of the skunkworks project that has been going on for two years and is headquartered out of the Irvine, California branch of Ford Motor Company. Towards the end of the previous year, Ford bought Auto Motive Power, a startup company that specializes in electric vehicle charging and battery management. They are currently collaborating with Ford’s engineers to develop a “third-generation electric vehicle.”
As a result of the fact that the Ford spokesman with whom TechCrunch spoke was unable to provide any information regarding the project or its timeframe, we are unable to accurately predict when the product of its labor will be available for purchase. Although Farley indicated that the electric vehicle will need to compete with “the affordable Tesla and Chinese OEMs,” we do not have any information regarding the price tag of the electric vehicle.