Ford Makes $5 Billion Dollar Bet On Electric Vehicles

One year ago today, a headline in the  Car Pro Show newsletter read: Ford Hits Brakes Harder On Electric Vehicles.  This week we learn that they are launching a $5 billion dollar initiative to make themselves more competitive to the low cost EVs China is building.  Is this a good move or will this gamble pay off?  Only time will tell. - Car Pro Show host Jerry Reynolds

Ford's had an on-again, off-again relationship with all-electric vehicles, no doubt given changing market conditions. Now, after pulling back on its EV plans, it's forging ahead again to the tune of a $5 billion investment for a new Ford Universal EV Platform and all-electric midsize pickup. 

Ford says its new Ford Universal EV Platform will enable it to build affordable electric vehicles at scale. Its first product, the as-of-yet unnamed midsize four-door pickup with an expected starting price of around $30,000. Ford also says it will create or secure 4,000 jobs at its Louisville Assembly Plant and BlueOval Battery Park Michigan. The automaker says it'll be as fast as the Mustang EcoBoost with more downforce.  

“We took a radical approach to a very hard challenge: Create affordable vehicles that delight customers in every way that matters – design, innovation, flexibility, space, driving pleasure, and cost of ownership – and do it with American workers,” said Ford President and CEO Jim Farley.

Photo: Ford.

“We have all lived through far too many ‘good college tries’ by Detroit automakers to make affordable vehicles that ends up with idled plants, layoffs and uncertainty. So, this had to be a strong, sustainable and profitable business. From Day 1, we knew there was no incremental path to success. We empowered a tiny skunkworks team three time zones away from Detroit. We tore up the moving assembly line concept and designed a better one. And we found a path to be the first automaker to make prismatic LFP batteries in the U.S.”

Some fast-facts about the new platform:

• It reduces parts by 20% versus a typical vehicle, with 25% fewer fasteners, 40% fewer workstations dock-to-dock in the plant and 15% faster assembly time.
• Ford says it will offer a lower cost of ownership over five years than a three-year-old used Tesla Model Y.
• Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) prismatic batteries enable space and weight savings, while delivering cost reduction and durability for customers.
• The platform’s cobalt-free and nickel-free LFP battery pack is a structural sub-assembly that also serves as the vehicle’s floor.  Ford says this low center of gravity improves handling, creates a quiet cabin, and provides a surprising amount of interior space.

What we know about the new EV pickup:

• Its wiring harness will be more than 4,000 feet (1.3 kilometers) shorter and 10 kilograms lighter than the one used in Ford's first-generation electric SUV.
• Ford says it will offer more passenger space than the Toyota RAV4, even before you include the frunk and the truck bed.
• You can lock gear in the truck bed – no roof rack or trailer hitch racks required. 
• It's expected to start from around $30,000
• It's due to arrive in 2027.

“We took inspiration from the Model T – the universal car that changed the world,” said Doug Field, Ford chief EV, digital and design officer. “We assembled a really brilliant collection of minds across Ford and unleashed them to find new solutions to old problems. We applied first-principles engineering, pushing to the limits of physics to make it fun to drive and compete on affordability. Our new zonal electric architecture unlocks capabilities the industry has never seen. This isn’t a stripped-down, old-school vehicle.”

Stay tuned for the mid-size pickup's EPA-estimated battery range, battery sizes and charge times, along with its reveal date.

Photo:  Ford President and CEO Jim Farley speaks at Louisville Assembly Plant as the company shares its plans to design and assemble breakthrough electric vehicles in America on August 11, 2025. Credit: Ford