On Friday, Ford announced that it is preparing for the next phase of its electric truck business with the unveiling of Project T3. After a “teach-in” on the new segments of its business, Ford revealed that it will produce its next-generation electric truck, known as Project T3, at the BlueOval City EV vehicle and battery manufacturing complex. Production of Project T3 is scheduled to begin in 2025 at the West Tennessee plant.
Ford CEO Jim Farley announced the company’s next step in its electric truck business, Project T3, which will be built at the upcoming BlueOval City EV vehicle and battery manufacturing complex. The truck is set to begin production in 2025 at the West Tennessee plant. While no specific details were provided on the truck’s size or specifications, Ford stated that T3 stands for “Trust The Truck,” which was the guiding principle for the development team to create a reliable and updatable truck that supports towing, hauling, and exportable power. In a statement, Farley described Project T3 as a platform for innovation and capability, combining Ford’s truck expertise with a world-class electric vehicle, software, and aerodynamics talent, and compared it to the Millennium Falcon with a back porch attached.
The T3 would be the first made from the ground-up, pure electric platform that Ford will be using for a truck. The F-150 Lighting EV pickup uses a retrofitted current-generation F-150 pickup platform as its base. Ford says when up and running, BlueOval city will employ 6,000 people and will be able to produce 500,000 electric trucks a year. Ford and its battery partner SK On are investing $5.6 billion to develop the BlueOval City complex. Costs associated with developing EV platforms and building EV and battery assembly plants are why Ford is projecting a $3 billion adjusted EBIT loss for this year in its Model e-business unit, Ford said.
CFRA’s Garrett Nelson shared his thoughts on Ford’s forecast of a big loss in its EV business this year, and the challenges it faces transitioning to pure EVs in a note to clients on Thursday. “We think the disclosure from the U.S.’s second best-selling EV manufacturer reveals a couple of ugly industry truths: 1) we believe no U.S. automaker is making EVs profitably aside from Tesla and 2) EVs are likely to be a material drag on near- and intermediate-term earnings,” Nelson wrote. “Furthermore, with the U.S. EV market likely to become oversaturated in the near future given the number of new models coming to market, sales volumes could disappoint.”
