Ford Targets Rivian, Tesla With New Low-Cost EV Platform, Predicts Shift Toward China

Ford’s innovative affordable electric vehicle platform is set to compete with Tesla and Rivian, and forecasts suggest a strategic shift toward Chinese manufacturing methods.

New Skunkworks Team Platform

The future, Ford says, lies in compact electric vehicles. We’re learning more about Ford’s new affordable platform, and its “Skunkworks” crew isn’t so small anymore, now that the secret is out. Ford CEO Jim Farley drew parallels between Rivian and Tesla when describing the company’s new affordable EV platform. Farley, on the other hand, suggested that Ford could be more cost-effective and better.

Electrek reports that during a press conference with investors in February, Farley revealed that the Skunkworks team is working on a low-cost electric vehicle platform for its next-generation electric vehicles.

Tesla Model Y Leader

Farley assured us that this small group is made up of “some of the best EV engineers in the world.” Alan Clarke, who worked on Tesla’s Model Y, leads the group.

Fifty former Rivian employees, 20 from Tesla, 20 from Lucid and a handful from Apple have joined Ford in the past few months. Other industry heavyweights that have recruited Ford employees include Archer Aviation, Joby and Supernal, a unit of Hyundai.

The much smaller battery and new chemistry are part of the team “developing a completely different approach, a different product at a different price point,” Farley said earlier this year.

Ford says the platform will be able to accommodate a wide range of vehicles. During Ford’s second-quarter earnings call this year, Farley provided more details on what to expect.

While “the EV journey has been humbling,” Farley expressed gratitude to the company for its 2.5-year start, saying he will use what he learns to improve next-generation electric vehicles.

Software control across vehicle domains

According to Farley’s statement on Wednesday, “the only non-Chinese OEMs that control the software in all vehicles” are Ford, Rivian and Tesla.

“The second factor for success is cost matching with Chinese OEMs and Tesla, especially for affordable electric vehicles,” Farley added. “A super-efficient platform that leverages innovation across our product development, supply chain and manufacturing teams” is being designed by Ford, Farley said.

Ford will focus primarily on two markets: work and adventure. Smaller, cheaper cars require less battery material, which improves profit margins and reduces expenses.

Lower cost of ownership

“It’s supercharging the lower cost of ownership that electric vehicles have already achieved,” Farley said.

The platform will be used “on multiple cylinders” by Ford, as Farley put it. Scalability and expansion of its software business will be achieved through it.

Turning Ford vehicles into “general-purpose computers” allowed the company to deliver “powerful, connected, continuously improving, personalized experiences” to customers.

Farley continued: “The real test of EV viability will be these small vehicles,” predicting that many of our competitors “will turn to their Chinese independents or partners to essentially use their platform globally.”