Ford is still betting that an affordable electric truck can win over American drivers, even after taking a $20 billion write-down tied to its EV plans. The automaker says a new electric pickup priced at about $30,000 remains on track to arrive next year.
Ford has made headlines for recently scaling back other EV ambitions, including pausing production of its electric F-150 Lightning and closing an EV battery factory in Kentucky.
Yet it has kept its lower-cost pickup EV project alive. Details about the EV are scarce, but journalists recently got a sneak peek of the pickup at Ford's Electric Vehicle Development Center in Long Beach, California.
Based on this sneak peek, we know that it will be a smaller pickup with four doors, while Motor Trend also claimed that it will include a lithium iron phosphate battery pack, as opposed to more energy-dense nickel manganese cobalt batteries.
At the EVDC, former Tesla executive Alan Clarke and his team are developing the truck. Clarke told the New York Times that morale suffered during last year's pullback, but leadership continued supporting the pickup while cutting other programs.
Clarke explained to the Times that "the fact that [this electric pickup project] still exists is a testament to the leadership of Ford, that they really believe it's the future."
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There are rumors that this pickup could be dubbed the Ford Ranchero EV, as the company filed a trademark last August with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Ford and Clarke are shooting for a starting price of around $30,000 and a range of roughly 300 miles. If they can meet those goals, the truck would roughly cost as much as a gas-powered Ford Maverick while offering lower fueling costs. These lower fuel costs are important as the conflict in the Middle East continues to drive up gas prices, in addition to interest in EVs.
The Times also reported that Ford has prototypes in testing and is getting a factory in Louisville, Kentucky, ready to build the truck before it reaches showrooms next year.
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