Fords new Model T moment
Yesterday Ford announced their new plan to make a family of low cost electric vehicles, at their plant in Kentucky. The first vehicle from this platform will be a $30,000 four-door, midsized pickup truck, releasing in 2027.
The plan is meant to help Ford bring down costs of production, and get the company on the road to profitability. This year alone Ford is projected to lose $5 billion on EVs and software!
The platform for their family of electric vehicles will be able to adapt to different types of vehicles, like trucks, vans, and SUV’S. The vehicles from this family will be software defined, which means they will get better over time through over-the-air updates. They will also use LFP batteries that are more durable, cheaper, and charge faster than the current line of electric vehicles.
The Model T Moment
Ford’s model T moment comes on the assembly line. If you didn’t know before the Model T, if you assembled a car the workers would have to move it from station to station, but when Ford made the Model T they used a conveyor belt to speed up the process from 12 hours for one vehicle, to about 93 minutes!
The modern model T moment is, instead of a long conveyor belt, they are going to use three sub-assemblies running down their own lines before coming together at the end. By using this method, a large single-piece of aluminum unicasting can be used instead of dozens of smaller parts, helping the front and rear of the vehicle to be assembled separately.
Ford also is going to improve the ergonomics of its workers, with a process that involves less twisting, reaching and bending. It will also include the use of more robots and automation.
The Platform
Ford didn’t reveal a new vehicle yesterday, but there’s definitely is a prototype out there of the next-gen electric truck. Some workers got to see it, and in a video they said it was “revolutionary!”
One thing that they did unveil was how they were going to make the universal platform. It will use 20 percent fewer parts, them normal vehicles. With 25 percent fewer fasteners and 40 percent less working stations dock-to-dock at the Kentucky plant. Which turns out to be a 15 percent faster assembly time, compared to normal vehicle assembly.
The new family will also be less complex, for example the mid-sized truck will have less of a network of wires, cables, and connectors. With the company estimating wiring that’s 4,000 feet shorter and 10 kilograms lighter than Ford’s Mustang Mach-E.
The new battery will also save space. Ford says that the midsized truck will have more passenger room than the Toyota RAV4, even before you include the frunk and truck bed. The bed for the truck will be large enough to fit a surfboard without a roof rack or a trailer hitch!