Ford’s secret “skunkworks” team in California is no longer a secret and has grown significantly over the past year. Filled with former Tesla, Rivian, and Apple engineers, Ford has given the team a new, two-building EV design center to develop its upcoming lower-cost, midsize models.
Ford opens its new EV Design Center in Long Beach
The new campus in Long Beach, California, officially opened its doors on Tuesday. Ford told reporters that the new 250,000-square-foot site will become the company’s main design and innovation hub in Southern California.
Although the facility was built 95 years ago to expand production of Ford’s first vehicle, the Model A, it was later converted for military use during World War II.
Now, it will be used to shape the future of Ford. Ann Diep, a senior technical program manager at Ford, said the company will “develop a new generation of electric vehicles people are going to love” at the facility.
After nearly a decade of launching products for Apple, Diep is now tasked with developing Ford’s new lineup of electric vehicles.
The team is led by Alan Clarke, who worked at Tesla for over a decade. Clark’s team comprises former employees from Tesla, Rivian, Lucid, and Apple, creating an EV platform that will power Ford’s upcoming lineup of smaller, more affordable models.
Benchmarking EV leaders to cut costs
Last year, Ford’s CEO, Jim Farley, said the team was benchmarking costs “against the best competitors in the world,” in particular, Chinese brands.
According to Farley, the first EV based on the platform will be a midsize electric pickup that will “match the cost structure of Chinese OEMs building in Mexico.” It’s scheduled to launch in 2027. Ford will use LFP batteries to reduce costs, which will be manufactured at its new battery plant in Michigan, but licensed from China’s CATL.
We learned the platform will support eight different body styles, including trucks, crossovers, SUVs, and possibly sedans.
Top comment by Metl Mann
It was smart of Ford (Farley) to create a separate design studio for EVs. I saw a comment somewhere yesterday from a person who was at a car industry event. They heard Ford engineers mocking EVs, EV drivers and Farley. Those people know their days are numbered and they are being big babies about it. Ford is looking at the world markets with clear eyes and they see what is coming. Even though they made all the same mistakes every other legacy car company made with EVs (giant EV pickups? What were you thinking?) they now seem to be moving in the right direction.
I still think the idea of an EV pickup is dumb until battery and motor tech makes them comparable to present day trucks. Until then, focus on ofther vehicle types that EV minded people want. Maybe they've had a breakthrough?
During a “candid dinner discussion” with lead Bernstein analyst Daniel Roeska in June, Lisa Drake, Ford’s vice president of tech platform programs and EV systems, offered a few insights.
Roeska told investors (via Axios) that “Lisa Drake was explicit: Ford intends to match the cost structure of leading Chinese players.” The memo added “that means not just battery pricing, but full system cost from chassis and thermal systems to inverters and electronics.”
Ford will reveal more about its “plans to design and build a breakthrough electric vehicle and platform in the US,” on August 11.
Farley is hyping it up as the company’s next “Model T moment,” adding that it’s “a chance to bring in a new family of vehicles” that will shape the future of Ford.
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