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In a bid to increase EV sales, Ford is investing $5 billion to modernize the way it manufactures electric vehicles. The company plans to ditch the traditional assembly line it pioneered more than 100 years ago, in favour of a more streamlined approach.
By breaking from tradition, Ford hopes to increase efficiency and bring down the cost of its EVs. The automaker says that, with these modernizations, it will be able to manufacture EVs retailing for as low as $30,000.
Ford announced these developments at an event in Kentucky on Monday, where it unveiled plans for a new “Universal EV Platform”.
The platform abandons the traditional assembly line, in favour of an “assembly tree” structure. Rather than a single assembly belt, the “assembly tree” comprises of three converging lines, or sub-assembly lines. Line-workers will be supplied with kits that travel down the tree structure.
Under this new model, Ford claims it will require 40% fewer stations, 20% fewer parts, and will be 15% faster than traditional assembly line production.
Ford’s CEO, Jim Farley, said the new strategy represented,
“ The most radical change in how we design and how we build vehicles at Ford since the Model T”.
This bold redirection comes in response to sluggish EV sales for the automaker. Ford has struggled to contend with increasingly stiff competition from Chinese manufacturers, as well as a national down-turn in EV sales.
Expensive batteries, challenges to EV charging infrastructure and the impact of Trump’s tariffs, have all cast a shadow of uncertainty on the U.S. EV market.
If Ford is able to pull off this ambitious plan, it hopes to produce affordable EVs that will undercut large-scale EV manufacturers like Tesla and stand up to Chinese competition.
The first vehicle to be rolled out under the new system will be a four-door, midsize truck, featuring a front storage compartment, known as a ‘frunk’. The chassis is expected to debut in 2027.
Ford’s modernization strategy represents a bold redirection for the American automaker. Farley addressed the ambition behind the project in an interview noting,
“There are no guarantees with this project. We’re doing so many new things, I can’t tell you with 100% certainty that this all will go just right. It is a bet. There is risk”.
The total $5 billion investment will readapt the existing Louisville, Kentucky plant and develop a new EV battery plant in its home state of Michigan. The automaker claims that both projects combined will create around 4,000 new jobs.
To hear more about Ford’s new EV strategy join us at our MOVE America event this September.
Ford will be joined by other industry leaders for a day that celebrates the latest innovations and the greatest minds in mobility.
Don’t miss out on being part of the discussion. Buy your tickets here today!
