Photo: vburlapp / Instagram
Was anyone wondering what comes next after Ford's struggles to sell the (still popular) F-150 Lightning, which isn't the game changer that they hoped for, as well as the Mustang Mach-E, which is a compelling rival for the Tesla Model Y but still can't match its sales prowess?
According to Ford chief executive officer Jim Farley, in a recent earnings call, the company had a secret, unknown "skunkworks team" working on developing a new EV platform. That would be different from the one they have in the open that's designed to be used for the next generation Lightning truck and instead acted like a "startup" for the past couple of years.
Their idea is simple but has great potential: develop a new modular EV architecture that will serve as the foundation for various models and focus on lowering costs to fight off affordable EVs like Tesla's Model 3 and the upcoming Chinese EV menace. That's a must for the Blue Oval because the company lost almost $5 billion last year on EVs despite being some of their more expensive offerings.
With the CEO pointing towards the intention to fight "affordable Teslas and Chinese OEMs," there are only a couple of potential rivals – the Model 3 sedan and Model Y crossover. The former could be the preferred target for any traditional automaker, but let's remember that Ford abandoned the sedan form factor altogether in the United States and currently only offers crossovers, SUVs, and pickup trucks (plus commercial vans).
As such, maybe the intended target is the best-selling Model Y, after all. Or at least that's the opinion of someone dwelling across the imaginative realm of digital car content creators. Vince Burlapp (aka vburlapp on social media or burlappcar.com) is a prolific virtual artist who loves to dream of all the latest models across the wide-ranging automotive realm, and now he's envisioning the potential new low-cost Ford EV as a smaller and modernized sibling of the Mustang Mach-E, which is also on track to receive a second generation sometimes later this year or early in 2025 as a 2026 model year.
This unofficial high-rider could also mitigate an upcoming danger from Tesla – the biggest producer of EVs is also working on its own affordable model positioned below Model 3 and Model Y and scheduled to start production in Texas and then also at a new Mexico-based factory. However, don't expect to see either the Ford EV or Tesla (Model 2) at around $25k because inflation has probably rendered that threshold impossible, at least for the time being. Sure, there's always the chance to qualify for those federal rebates and additional incentives, so maybe after all that is factored in, the cost of adoption will be closer to realizing Musk's dream of the "dirt-cheap" EV for everyone.
Their idea is simple but has great potential: develop a new modular EV architecture that will serve as the foundation for various models and focus on lowering costs to fight off affordable EVs like Tesla's Model 3 and the upcoming Chinese EV menace. That's a must for the Blue Oval because the company lost almost $5 billion last year on EVs despite being some of their more expensive offerings.
With the CEO pointing towards the intention to fight "affordable Teslas and Chinese OEMs," there are only a couple of potential rivals – the Model 3 sedan and Model Y crossover. The former could be the preferred target for any traditional automaker, but let's remember that Ford abandoned the sedan form factor altogether in the United States and currently only offers crossovers, SUVs, and pickup trucks (plus commercial vans).
As such, maybe the intended target is the best-selling Model Y, after all. Or at least that's the opinion of someone dwelling across the imaginative realm of digital car content creators. Vince Burlapp (aka vburlapp on social media or burlappcar.com) is a prolific virtual artist who loves to dream of all the latest models across the wide-ranging automotive realm, and now he's envisioning the potential new low-cost Ford EV as a smaller and modernized sibling of the Mustang Mach-E, which is also on track to receive a second generation sometimes later this year or early in 2025 as a 2026 model year.
This unofficial high-rider could also mitigate an upcoming danger from Tesla – the biggest producer of EVs is also working on its own affordable model positioned below Model 3 and Model Y and scheduled to start production in Texas and then also at a new Mexico-based factory. However, don't expect to see either the Ford EV or Tesla (Model 2) at around $25k because inflation has probably rendered that threshold impossible, at least for the time being. Sure, there's always the chance to qualify for those federal rebates and additional incentives, so maybe after all that is factored in, the cost of adoption will be closer to realizing Musk's dream of the "dirt-cheap" EV for everyone.
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