Ford is in deep development for its next-generation electric vehicles. It is a new full-size EV pickup that will add on to its EV pickup model, F-150 Lightning. The automaker has been working on various new developments for its Model e division. The division is dedicated to EVs and is in hopes of creating an industry-leading platform.
Among the developments revealed last year, was an all-new pickup design that packs a completely new nameplate and is rumored to be a completely fresh slate for Ford to build upon. Electric trucks have become a growing part of the overall EV market in the United States. Rivian, Ford, and General Motors all currently have competitive offers available, with Tesla, Lordstown Motors, and others planning to release additional pickups within the next year.
As revealed in the recent Ford Earnings Call, CEO Jim Farley hinted toward the new EV pickup, and his comments seemed to solidify reports from late last year that indicated the company’s next electric truck would not be a transitional model that sports the same name as a gas model. “Now, we are deep in the development of our second-generation EVs, including our next-generation electric full-size pickup, which, by the way, is awesome.”
EV models
Farley’s vague and relatively undetailed comments are unsurprising, but they absolutely catalyze plenty of potential for a carmaker like Ford. The company has been selling the most-popular pickup brand in America for 46 consecutive years and America’s best-selling vehicle 41 times in the F-150 series. The F-150 Lightning has also been a Ford EV pickup concept, selling 15,671 units of the all-electric pickup in its first year on the market.
While details are scarce at the current time, Ford did detail some of the plans it has for the next-generation EV architecture, which will be developed completely from scratch. Farley said the new platform would encourage simplification, which should improve manufacturing and engineering through various streamlined processes. Ford will need it, too, especially as the company is planning to reach a volume potential of 1 million units with “just a handful of orderable combinations.” Other things can be optimized. “We didn’t know that our wiring harness for Mach-E was 1.6 kilometers longer than it needed to be. We didn’t know it’s 70 pounds heavier, and that that’s worth $300 of battery. We didn’t know that we underinvested in braking technology to save on the battery size,” Farley added later in the call.
