Ford to reveal platforms for all-electric vehicles

May
26, 2021

3 min read

This story originally appeared on ValueWalk

Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) will reportedly announce more electric vehicles today. Sources told Reuters that the automaker is working on two all-electric vehicle platforms, one for SUVs and full-size trucks and the other for smaller SUVs and cars. Ford is trailing General Motors (NYSE:GM), Volkswagen AG (OTCMKTS:VWAGY) and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) in global electrification.

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Ford set to reveal new EV platforms

The new electric vehicle platforms are part of Ford’s multi-billion-dollar plan for electrification, which it is expected to reveal to investors today. The platforms will provide common architectures for the automaker’s vehicles, which means they will share chassis components, batteries and electric motors.

They will enable Ford to reduce the expenses associated with producing EVs, including everything from manufacturing to logistics. Sources familiar with the automaker’s plans told Reuters that it plans to release at least nine all-electric SUVs, trucks and vans. Second-generation models of the F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E are included in the plan.

What else to expect at the investor day

Sources also said that Ford would offer more details on its strategy for long-range batteries at today’s investor day. Those plans reportedly include a joint venture with Korea’s SK Innovation, which was recently announced, and wider goals for self-driving, commercial and electric vehicles.

Ford has said in the past that it plans to spend $22 billion through 2025 on electrifying many of the vehicles in its line-up. Reuters’ sources said the automaker plans to release at least nine all-electric cars, trucks, vans, car-based SUVs and large SUVs.

Earlier this year, the automaker unveiled the Mustang Mach-E, an electric crossover built on a dedicated platform designated internally as “GE.” Sam Fiorani of AutoForecast Solutions told Reuters that a newer version of the platform, the GE2, will debut in the middle of 2023, and new Lincoln and Ford SUVs will be built on it.

Reuters’ sources said the upcoming Mustang coupe and Mach-E would be built on the GE2 platform. They added that Ford would use another passenger car platform based on Volkswagen’s MEB architecture for at least two new EVs starting in 2023.

Can traditional automakers go all-electric successfully?

However, Ford CEO Jim Farley can’t predict if consumers will buy the new electric vehicles, even if they can get the prices, range, performance and operating costs in line with or better than those of their counterparts with internal combustion engines. Almost all traditional automakers share that concern despite Tesla’s success with all-electric vehicles.

Ford’s traditional competitors have pushed ahead with electrification, as both Volkswagen and GM poured tens of billions of dollars into their plans on a more aggressive timetable than Ford’s. GM and Volkswagen each will have at least two dedicated platforms for electric vehicles with plans to base many of their upcoming EVs on them.

Volkswagen launched the first new EV, the ID.3, in Europe last year, while GM will start manufacturing its Hummer electric pickup in the U.S. later this year. Both automakers are also preparing to launch more electric models that will share important components with those vehicles.

Ford is part of the Entrepreneur Index, which tracks 60 of the largest publicly traded companies managed by their founders or their founders’ families. Ford stock climbed 4% in early trading after Reuters’ report.