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Hi F-150 Lightning forum folks - fresh news from Ford today.
The TLDR;
Ford is once again taking a revolutionary leap forward in engineering and manufacturing to bring a new family of affordable, high-quality electric vehicles within reach for millions around the world.
The new Ford Universal EV Platform and Ford Universal EV Production System introduced today were born from a team that combines the discipline, expertise and scale of a company with 122 years of experience with the speed, innovation and first-principles thinking of a California-based electric vehicle hardware and software skunkworks team.
The result: a simple, efficient, flexible ecosystem to deliver a family of affordable, electric, software-defined vehicles – the first of which is a midsize, four-door electric pickup that will be assembled at Ford’s Louisville Assembly Plant for U.S. and export markets. Its launch is scheduled for 2027.
The Ford Universal EV Platform
The numbers tell the story, Farley said. The platform 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. Lower cost of ownership over five years than a three-year-old used Tesla Model Y.
Take for instance the wiring harness in the new midsize truck; it will be more than 4,000 feet (1.3 kilometers) shorter and 10 kilograms lighter than the one used in our first-gen electric SUV. Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) prismatic batteries also 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. This low center of gravity improves handling, creates a quiet cabin, and provides a surprising amount of interior space.
The new midsize truck is forecasted to have more passenger room than the latest Toyota RAV4, even before you include the frunk and the truck bed. You can lock your surfboards or other gear in that bed – no roof rack or trailer hitch racks required. But it’s not just about space and utility. Ford makes passion products – and this electric vehicle platform with a low center of gravity from the battery, instant torque from electric motors and obsessive chassis engineering will make it fun to drive. The midsize truck will have a targeted 0-60 time as fast as a Mustang EcoBoost, with more downforce.
Additional specifications for the midsize electric truck – including reveal date, starting price, EPA-estimated battery range, battery sizes and charge times – will be communicated later.
The Ford Universal EV Production System
The Ford team obsessed about efficiency in manufacturing, too, transforming the traditional assembly line into an “assembly tree”. Instead of one long conveyor, three sub-assemblies run down their own lines simultaneously and then join together. Large single-piece aluminum unicastings replace dozens of smaller parts, enabling the front and rear of the vehicle to be assembled separately. The front and rear are then combined with the third sub-assembly, the structural battery, which is independently assembled with seats, consoles and carpeting, to form the vehicle.
Parts travel down the assembly tree to operators in a kit. Within that kit, all fasteners, scanners and power tools required for the job are included – and in the correct orientation for use. The Ford Universal EV Production System dramatically improves ergonomics for employees by reducing twisting, reaching and bending, allowing them to focus on the job at hand.
Because of the integration between the Ford Universal EV Production System and Platform, assembly of the midsize electric truck could be up to 40% faster than Louisville Assembly Plant’s current vehicles. Some of that time will be reinvested into insourcing and automation to improve quality and cost, ultimately netting a 15% speed improvement.
Continued Investment in American Manufacturing
Ford builds on its strong legacy of investing in U.S. vehicle assembly, planning to invest nearly $2 billion in Louisville Assembly Plant to assemble the midsize electric truck, securing 2,200 hourly jobs. The project is supported by an incentive offer from the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority.
Louisville Assembly Plant will expand by 52,000 square feet in order to move material more efficiently. Digital infrastructure upgrades will give Louisville Assembly Plant the fastest network with the most access points out of any Ford plant globally, enabling more quality scans.
Ford’s investment in Louisville Assembly Plant is in addition to its previously announced $3 billion investment in BlueOval Battery Park Michigan, which will build the prismatic LFP batteries for the midsize electric truck starting next year. Together, the investments total approximately $5 billion, and between the two plants, Ford expects to create or secure nearly 4,000 direct jobs while strengthening the domestic supply chain with dozens of new U.S.-based suppliers.
I'll do my best to answer what questions I can.
Brian
The TLDR;
- Betting on America: Ford is investing approximately $5 billion and creating or securing nearly 4,000 jobs across Louisville Assembly Plant and BlueOval Battery Park Michigan to deliver a new pickup and produce advanced prismatic LFP batteries.
- Ford Universal EV Platform: New platform enables a family of affordable vehicles to be produced at scale for customers – electric, fun to drive and digitally advanced with over-the-air updates that will keep improving the vehicle.
- Breakthrough product: The first will be a midsize four-door electric pickup with a targeted starting price of about $30,000, assembled at Louisville Assembly Plant and reaching customers in 2027. As fast as a Mustang EcoBoost. More passenger space than the latest Toyota RAV4 – with a frunk and a bed
- A better assembly line: More than a century after the invention of the moving assembly line, Ford combines its industrial know-how with a start-up mentality to create the new Ford Universal EV Production System, radically simplifying vehicle assembly for safety, quality and speed.
Ford is once again taking a revolutionary leap forward in engineering and manufacturing to bring a new family of affordable, high-quality electric vehicles within reach for millions around the world.
The new Ford Universal EV Platform and Ford Universal EV Production System introduced today were born from a team that combines the discipline, expertise and scale of a company with 122 years of experience with the speed, innovation and first-principles thinking of a California-based electric vehicle hardware and software skunkworks team.
The result: a simple, efficient, flexible ecosystem to deliver a family of affordable, electric, software-defined vehicles – the first of which is a midsize, four-door electric pickup that will be assembled at Ford’s Louisville Assembly Plant for U.S. and export markets. Its launch is scheduled for 2027.
The Ford Universal EV Platform
The numbers tell the story, Farley said. The platform 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. Lower cost of ownership over five years than a three-year-old used Tesla Model Y.
Take for instance the wiring harness in the new midsize truck; it will be more than 4,000 feet (1.3 kilometers) shorter and 10 kilograms lighter than the one used in our first-gen electric SUV. Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) prismatic batteries also 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. This low center of gravity improves handling, creates a quiet cabin, and provides a surprising amount of interior space.
The new midsize truck is forecasted to have more passenger room than the latest Toyota RAV4, even before you include the frunk and the truck bed. You can lock your surfboards or other gear in that bed – no roof rack or trailer hitch racks required. But it’s not just about space and utility. Ford makes passion products – and this electric vehicle platform with a low center of gravity from the battery, instant torque from electric motors and obsessive chassis engineering will make it fun to drive. The midsize truck will have a targeted 0-60 time as fast as a Mustang EcoBoost, with more downforce.
Additional specifications for the midsize electric truck – including reveal date, starting price, EPA-estimated battery range, battery sizes and charge times – will be communicated later.
The Ford Universal EV Production System
The Ford team obsessed about efficiency in manufacturing, too, transforming the traditional assembly line into an “assembly tree”. Instead of one long conveyor, three sub-assemblies run down their own lines simultaneously and then join together. Large single-piece aluminum unicastings replace dozens of smaller parts, enabling the front and rear of the vehicle to be assembled separately. The front and rear are then combined with the third sub-assembly, the structural battery, which is independently assembled with seats, consoles and carpeting, to form the vehicle.
Parts travel down the assembly tree to operators in a kit. Within that kit, all fasteners, scanners and power tools required for the job are included – and in the correct orientation for use. The Ford Universal EV Production System dramatically improves ergonomics for employees by reducing twisting, reaching and bending, allowing them to focus on the job at hand.
Because of the integration between the Ford Universal EV Production System and Platform, assembly of the midsize electric truck could be up to 40% faster than Louisville Assembly Plant’s current vehicles. Some of that time will be reinvested into insourcing and automation to improve quality and cost, ultimately netting a 15% speed improvement.
Continued Investment in American Manufacturing
Ford builds on its strong legacy of investing in U.S. vehicle assembly, planning to invest nearly $2 billion in Louisville Assembly Plant to assemble the midsize electric truck, securing 2,200 hourly jobs. The project is supported by an incentive offer from the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority.
Louisville Assembly Plant will expand by 52,000 square feet in order to move material more efficiently. Digital infrastructure upgrades will give Louisville Assembly Plant the fastest network with the most access points out of any Ford plant globally, enabling more quality scans.
Ford’s investment in Louisville Assembly Plant is in addition to its previously announced $3 billion investment in BlueOval Battery Park Michigan, which will build the prismatic LFP batteries for the midsize electric truck starting next year. Together, the investments total approximately $5 billion, and between the two plants, Ford expects to create or secure nearly 4,000 direct jobs while strengthening the domestic supply chain with dozens of new U.S.-based suppliers.
I'll do my best to answer what questions I can.
Brian
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