- Ford’s upcoming mid-size electric pickup truck is getting closer.
- The American automaker offered a glimpse at the $30,000 EV’s potential design.
- In a new video series, Ford also shows off the first camouflaged working prototypes during cold-weather testing.
Ford may have ditched the F-150 Lightning, but the American car company is not done with electric pickups yet. The automaker’s upcoming mid-size truck, which is expected to cost around $30,000, is still alive and kicking, and on track for a 2027 reveal.
In a new video series, Ford is offering a glimpse into the development of its make-or-break electric car, including shots of the EV during cold-weather testing, the radical new assembly process, and the potential final design of the car.
Photo by: Ford
One of the videos posted on an elusive new webpage shows several design sketches that cement the image of a rather boxy vehicle with vertical headlamps and a car-like silhouette. Another video that shows several camouflaged prototypes backs the idea of a Maverick-sized pickup with a relatively short bed.
All this being said, nobody—except Ford—knows what the finished entry-level electric pickup will look like or what it will be called. Some rumors suggest that the Ranchero nameplate will make a return, but we’ll have to wait and see what the blue oval brand has in store for its radical new EV.
Based on an all-new, bespoke architecture dubbed the Universal Electric Vehicle (UEV) platform, Ford’s new mid-size pickup will make extensive use of megacastings—huge body parts that reduce the number of parts—that are bolted together in sections.
Photo by: Ford
There’s a front part, a middle part, and a rear section. Previously, Ford said that each of these sections would be assembled on a separate line, and they would be bolted together at the end of the line. In another video posted on the model’s dedicated webpage, the automaker shows how the front part of the car is clipped onto the main chassis in an area of the factory called “The Chapel of Love,” where the two sections get “married.”
Mark Gentry, who works at Ford’s New Model Program Development Center (NMPDC), said he has been building Ford prototypes for 27 years and that nothing has gone together as easily as the new EV. The video also shows workers using bolts and adhesive to assemble various parts.
The company has previously said that the upcoming electric pickup will offer the interior space of a mid-size truck in the footprint of a Maverick. The new EV would also be as fast as a gas-powered Mustang EcoBoost and more spacious than a Toyota RAV4, thanks to the front trunk and rear bed.
Photo by: Ford
Ford has yet to offer solid details on the EV’s powertrain, but it has hinted that it would be powered by a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) or nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery with a maximum capacity of around 51 kilowatt-hours. That’s about half of what the cheapest F-150 Lightning truck offered, but the company is adamant that the new, purpose-built pickup will offer sufficient range, thanks to the car being much lighter and more aerodynamic.
The traction battery will be rated at 400 volts, which is a downgrade compared to the latest and greatest EVs out there, which have 800V or higher-voltage packs, but Ford said that it’s the right choice for this particular use case because it enables access to all installed charging infrastructure, it’s affordable, and it can make money for the company. Vehicle-to-load (V2L), which allows owners to export energy from the main battery to power tools and appliances, will be baked in.
Two-wheel drive and all-wheel drive options are in the works, with the Detroit automaker claiming that the electric motors, which will be built in-house, will be the cheapest in the world, allowing it to keep the costs down and the selling price low.
Ford’s new $30,000 pickup is expected to debut next year.
8
Source: Ford