Posted on 08/20/2025 7:23:19 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Ford’s $30,000 electric pickup aims to reinvent its future, but its past may weigh it down.
Last week, under the blistering heat of an August day at a Ford plant in Louisville, Ky., Ford CEO Jim Farley, a self-proclaimed lifelong petrol head, announced a $30,000 electric pickup truck slated for release in 2027. Farley pitched it as a new “Model T moment,” a breakthrough meant to reinvent how cars and trucks are assembled. The company hopes the move will help Ford remain a profitable U.S. automaker despite rising tariffs, softening EV demand, higher labor costs, and a political climate that is increasingly hostile to electrification.
For decades, Ford’s profits have been anchored by the enormous success of its F-series trucks. These full-sized SUVs and pickups are emissions-heavy but hugely lucrative. In the quarter ended June, Ford sold 222,459 trucks—its highest total since 2019. Yet with Ford now committing $5 billion to electrifying its strongest brand asset, that long-standing dominance—and its combustion-first image—may turn into its greatest liability.
Ford’s EV ambition clashes with its image
In 2018, Ford scrapped its sedans and small cars, a decision driven partly by shifting consumer tastes (Americans favor big SUVs) and partly by the company’s own “Built Ford Tough” mantra. Today, Ford still sells one of the least fuel-efficient pickups on the market: the F-150 Raptor R, which gets just 10 miles per gallon in the city and 15 on the highway.
The perception gap between gas-guzzling, image-driven monster trucks and the green promise of EVs is huge–and one that Ford has struggled to close. That gap was evident in 2020 with the rollout of the Mustang Mach-E SUV. The launch fell flat, relying too heavily on the company’s heritage of big trucks and muscle cars, which left both EV buyers and Ford loyalists confused about what the new model represented.
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The divide is further complicated by politics. As Bloomberg notes, about two-thirds of full-size truck owners lean conservative, and Republicans are less enthusiastic about EVs than Democrats. Ford’s crown jewel—the F-series—has become a symbol of excess and power, making it even harder to market a stripped-down, eco-friendly alternative across the political spectrum.
Ford’s EV playbook
Despite the enduring popularity of the F-150, sales of its electric sibling, the F-150 Lightning, have slowed. Lightning sales fell 26 percent during the April-June quarter from the previous year. The Mach-E also stumbled in the latest quarter, with sales dropping 20 percent year-over-year. Ford’s EV division, Model e, posted a $1.3 billion quarterly loss, and the company expects nearly $5 billion in EV-related losses this year.
To turn things around, Ford is borrowing from Tesla’s playbook. At the Kentucky plant, where it is investing $2 billion, the company is adopting a flexible “tree” assembly system in which components are built on separate branches before joining at final assembly. Engineers are also working to reduce the costly wiring harnesses that have burdened EV makers like Rivian. Ford is building a new battery plant in Michigan, and its $30,000 truck will feature a lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery to extend range while keeping costs down.
Meanwhile, Chinese EVs have become formidable competition (primarily in overseas market for now) thanks to their affordability, range and technology. The U.S. government has responded with aggressive measures to curb their import. Even so, Farley himself admitted on a podcast that after spending six months driving a Xiaomi SU7 to and from work, he thought it was “fantastic” and didn’t want to give it up.
Ultimately, Ford’s battle isn’t just with Tesla, Rivian or Chinese automakers. It’s about survival. Wall Street’s response to the $30,000 EV announcement has been cautious. Analysts praise the ambition but question whether Ford can scale fast enough or maintain that price point given tariffs, labor costs and declining U.S. tax credits. Many still consider the stock overvalued.
In truth, Ford’s move may be too little, too late. If this truly is Ford’s new “Model T” moment, then the new electric pickup must do what that historic car once did: be affordable, reliable, and unmistakably Ford. Otherwise, the company’s greatest strength—its big-truck legacy—could become the weight that drags it under.
Say goodbye to Ford by 2032.
The Ford “Brain-Trust” is completely disconnected from reality. They will lose an ENORMOUS amount of money on this misadventure.
“Make a basic ranger sized pick-em up with a diesel engine.”
They can’t. The CAFE emissions standard won’t allow it.
I’m predicting a face plant.
The company hopes the move [$30,000 electric pickup available in two yearfs] will help Ford remain a profitable U.S. automaker despite ... softening EV demand”
BRILLIANT! make up massive losses per EV with increased volume of vehicles no one wants!
The Maverick is a hybrid.
I’d rather have my old 2000 F250 7.3.
I think some of their Ranger models are around 30,000.
“Why we can’t have small trucks anymore - Blame the EPA”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azI3nqrHEXM
Jeff Bezos’s new Slate pickup hybrid is reported to start at $28,000.
https://youtu.be/eIJcWC7TBZo?si=dKLjEbKLUzFHyP2d
Ford needs to back to a true Model T, a cheap, bare bones sedan. If it is under $30,000 and well made it will sell like hot cakes.
Preferably gasoline engine.
There was a time when he’d have gotten his ass kicked, and nobody would have dared drive anything but a Ford onto the property. That Xiaomi thing would have ended up in little pieces.
HMMMMMMMMM. I wonder if union contracts are a factor in the corporate decision to reduce the volume needed to reach bottom line goals.
Or...if it caught fire.
Why would anyone throw away 30k on an EV? They are a stupid idea for any use except as golf carts.
The answer is simple. Take a F150 bare bones work truck model. No huge screens no leather King Ranch pavement grocery getter queen. Single and crew cab with a full sized bed that fits a full sheet of plywood flat in it.
Put an E axle drive unit in the rear replacing the differential and existing axle. Power that with 400V LFP pack that holds just enough energy to send that truck 40 miles with a SOC window of 100-20% LFP cells like full charges unlike NMC. This small pack of LFP cells is going to be cheap in bulk and around 30 kWh in size. Remember a fully loaded tesla semi only needs 1.7kWh per mile at 82,000lb gross weight. That E axle should be a 200kw motor plenty to tow with as towing takes torque not HP.
Put said pack flat under the bed in the centerline for low center of gravity. Above it include a 2 cubic foot liquid fuel tank that’s right at 15 gallons worth and only a few cubic feet of used space.
Upfront in the engine compartment put a high compression atkinson cycle with 14:1 compression and 18:1 expansion. Direct injection no turbos a three cyl inline rated at 150kw at its peak efficiency point which is 75% of rated load is 112 kw at what should be close to 40% BFSC use that engine to drive a 400Hz AC generator the size of a paint can. Feed that 400hz 400volt AC into silicon carbide rectifiers and turn it to 400V DC use that to run your E axle and charge your pack just like a diesel locomotive. At 40% BSFC you should be getting 35-40 mpg while under generator drive.
The pack sends you your first 40 miles using cheap plug electrons then it seamlessly switches to generator power at its peak efficiency point until the pack is recharged and it shuts off again.
Given that 96% of all trips are under 30 miles per the DOT most trips are taken without the engine ever being used and the 4% of longer trips have 525+ miles of range in that 15 gallon tank and 2 min refill times. Even if you don’t have a plug running a generator at its peak efficiency point is always going to return better MPG vs load following and that’s before regenerative energy recovery from braking is captured in the pack. This last effect is why a Toyota Camry hybrid gets’m nearly double the mpg of its identical ICE twin.
Small pack, small generator, bare bones existing frame and mass produced E axle would be $20000 or less the Chinese can do a 5 passenger plug in for $15,000 USD with LFP cells. Ford surely could too.
THEY DON’T WANT TOO, big trucks are marked up profit making machines. If BYD was allowed to sell here they would as the Don said bloodbath the auto industry.
Ford is going to do everything possible to keep its cash cow model going. BYD is about to start making cars in Mexico those will be Mexican cars under NAFTA then things get interesting.
$20K try $15K its a plug in, so you go the first 80km using the plug power which would be like 30 cents per gallon gasoline costs then switch to its generator and get 90+ mpg they tested this car at 2.2l/100km that’s 108 mpg in US gallons. City driving in China in traffic at that.
Again when China starts making this very car in Mexico as a Mexican car things have to fundamentally change in North America.
“To: Harmless Teddy Bear
“Make a basic ranger sized pick-em up with a diesel engine.”
They can’t. The CAFE emissions standard won’t allow it.”
Partially true there are smaller diesels that hit Tier 3 Bin 125 standards which are legal under CAFE and the EPA for light duty use. Cummins has a 4 cyl version of the 6 cyl they put in Ram trucks that’s a T3 B125 rated engine. They could easily put that into a mid sized LDV truck. Question is would anyone pay the $5000 premium for the engine and $2000 more for the SCR+DPF cats to make it legal. As a none commercial driver the fuel savings over the life of the vehicle wouldn’t pay back the premium for diesel engine and in Texas diesel is $3.20 and 87 is 2.78 today further tipping the scale for gasoline engines. Remember Cummins just released a gasoline version of their truck diesel Cummins specify because 3 way cats a.d gasoline are so much cheaper than diesel equivalents. They just turned up the turbo boost to equal out the torque numbers and over built the lower end it is still a diesel Cummins but with spark plugs increased glow plugs in the head and lower compression pistons.
Diesel only makes sense for heavy duty towing over commercial distances. And with the new gas powered diesel Cummins that makes even less sense now for all but class 8 rigs.
Out in between the corn fields around here, people are increasingly driving UTV’s. Big farms with hands used to have half dozen pickups, not anymore. UTV’s much cheaper and are real work horses now.
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