- Ford’s upcoming affordable EV lineup will include a Tesla Model Y and Model 3 rival.
- CEO Jim Farley said that the company wants to do it all: hybrids, EREVs, and affordable EVs.
- There’s no word on when the new electric models will debut, but they’re expected to be underpinned by the company’s Universal Electric Vehicle platform.
Ford is working on a Tesla Model 3 and Model Y competitor, the company’s CEO, Jim Farley, said last week during an episode of Spike’s Car Radio podcast. The news comes as many car companies, including Ford and Tesla, have been scaling back their EV ambitions after the Trump administration’s policy changes led to tens of billions of dollars of losses.
Details are scarce, but Ford’s head honcho let the cat out of the bag, as Ford Authority noted. “We’ll have an all-electric, affordable vehicle to compete with Model Y and Model 3,” Farley said on the podcast, adding that Ford is going full steam ahead with an all-hybrid lineup and a few extended-range EVs (EREVs) that will excel at towing.
Ford is no stranger to scaling back EV programs. Late last year, the F-150 Lightning, America’s best-selling electric pickup, was canceled after sales didn’t gain enough traction. What’s more, the company has axed its plans for a next-generation full-size electric pickup, along with a second-generation electric Transit van.
Ford’s idea for the Lightning is to stuff a gas engine under the hood that acts as a generator, leaving its “skunkworks” EV team to figure out a way to make cheap and modern electric cars that people will actually buy. The result is called the Universal Electric Vehicle platform, and the first model to see the light of day will be a roughly $30,000 mid-size pickup that’s scheduled to debut next year.
However, Ford wouldn’t put so much effort into a dedicated electric vehicle platform for it to underpin just one model. Jim Farley didn’t say it out loud, but the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y rival he referred to during the podcast will most likely be based on the same architecture.
It’s unclear if Ford is working on two distinct models to rival Tesla’s offerings, but it’s no secret that the blue oval automaker’s new platform can accommodate several “top hats.” During an interview with InsideEVs last year, Ford’s CEO declined to comment on the possibility of a new Mustang Mach-E getting the UEV treatment. “I have lots of thoughts on that idea, but I’m not ready to talk about it,” he said.
Whatever the names and body styles of the upcoming models, they’ll likely be powered by affordable lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries, seeing how Ford chose this chemistry for the upcoming mid-size electric pickup. LFP cells are cheaper and offer greater durability than traditional nickel-rich lithium-ion batteries. They can be fully charged regularly without worrying about degradation, but their energy density is lower.
