The secret is out.
Ford CEO Jim Farley revealed during the company’s 2023 earnings call that Ford has a secret low-cost electric vehicle project in the works.
He called it a “skunkworks” and said it was operating like a startup outside of the rest of Ford.
“Some of the best EV engineers in the world,” he said.
Farley said Ford “made a bet in silence” about two years ago that would allow it to compete with the announced $25,000 Tesla and low priced models from Chinese automakers.
FORD INCREASING BRONCO AND RANGER PRODUCTION WHILE CUTTING F-150 LIGHTNING OUTPUT DUE TO DEMAND
He didn’t offer any details on the vehicle or the project, but said that the platform would support a variety of models and act as a “software install base” for revenue-generating digital services.
THE FORD MUSTANG MACH-E GT BRONZE APPEARANCE PACKAGE IS AN ERUPTION OF COLOR
In 2021, Ford executive Kumar Galhotra told Automotive news the company’s goal was to drive electric vehicle prices below $25,000.
“The prize is to bring that point lower and lower so that high volume, smaller-sized vehicles can be profitable as well. I can’t say that right now, today,” Galhotra said.
THE FORD F-150 LIGHTNING SWITCHGEAR IS A TRANSFORMING OFF-ROAD ELECTRIC TRUCK
“If we go much lower with a price point, say $20,000, it obviously won’t be possible. But we’re working towards it.”