Ford has officially chosen Long Beach as its new home to develop its next-generation EV platform. The new headquarters will be where Ford’s “Skunkworks” team will build its affordable next-gen electric vehicles.
CEO Jim Farley revealed Ford had been “secretly” working on a low-cost EV platform on a media call with investors in February.
According to Farley, Ford had a small “skunkworks” team working on the project. The team consists of “some of the best EV engineers in the world.”
Alan Clarke, who previously worked at Tesla for 12 years, leads the project. However, it’s not just Tesla that Ford has taken talent from. The team includes former Rivian, Lucid, and Apple employees.
Ford has also brought on eVTOL industry talent from leaders like Archer Aviation, Joby, and Hyundai’s Supernal.
“They are engineering a completely different approach, a different product at a different cost with a much smaller battery and different chemistry,” Farley explained.
The team is advancing Ford’s next-gen affordable electric vehicles. Ford has said the new platform will be flexible and will support several different types of vehicles.
Ford picks new home for its affordable electric vehicles
Rex Richardson, Mayor of Long Beach, and Ford announced the new home for the automaker’s new Advanced Electric Vehicle Development Center Wednesday.
Top comment by Ule Amra
What would really crack me up at this point is if Ford and GM beat Tesla to market with desirable b-segment EVs while Rimac/Verne beats Tesla to robotaxis. Tesla's been talking a big game about revolutionizing manufacturing and being the largest automaker on earth, but I'm having trouble seeing why those legacy players that are taking the BEV opportunity seriously are as "doomed" as the Musk-ovites like to sneer. Since the Model Y launch, Tesla's delivered 1) a limited-utility stainless-steel doorstop to a market segment that expects vehicles to work for a living, and 2) a mid-cycle refresh to one sedan. Feels like they're getting dangerously close to a lot of their bluffs being called.
I do hope not, because Tesla pushed the world auto industry to an EV revolution that industry had long been resisting and I'd hope they still have much to offer, but lately it's seemed like a lot more sizzle than steak, with big set-piece events repeatedly delivering far less than expected and Musk's grandiose claims falling part ever faster. Maybe deliver the affordable car they'd long promised for the rest of us instead of chasing after the dwindling remainder of solvent fanbois.
Ford’s chief EV officer, Doug Field, said the new facility is “a key part of our broader strategy to build the best electric vehicle and technology development teams in the world.”
Field added that the Long Beach headquarters will “create a hub for the development of advanced electric vehicle technologies and products” alongside its Product Development Center in Dearborn and Greenfield labs location in Palo Alto.
According to Ford’s EV chief, the team is “developing vehicles that are as affordable as they are desirable.”
Ford was the second best-selling EV brand in the US through May. The Mustang Mach-E was the third best-selling EV, behind only Tesla’s Model Y and Model 3, while the F-150 Lightning pickup remained America’s top-selling pickup.
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