Ford Motor Firm has developed a brand new EV platform designed to cut back manufacturing complexity and prices, in keeping with Doug Subject, the corporate’s chief EV, digital and design officer. The Ford Common Electrical Automobile Platform will underpin the automaker’s first midsize, four-door electrical pickup truck.
Talking at Ford’s Louisville Meeting Plant, Subject detailed the three-year improvement course of, describing how Ford assembled a small crew led by Alan Clarke, previously of Tesla, to work on the undertaking in secrecy at a California facility. The crew operated with minimal oversight and was tasked with difficult standard automotive engineering approaches.
“Physics isn’t proprietary,” Subject mentioned, explaining the crew’s philosophy of deep programs integration that led them to search out methods for particular person elements to carry out a number of capabilities whereas eliminating complexity.
The brand new platform incorporates what Ford calls “unicasting,” the place giant, single aluminum elements function each structural physique components and bases for sub-assemblies. In comparison with a conventional pickup physique, the crew eradicated three-quarters of the elements, two-thirds of the welds, and half of the fasteners. {The electrical} system removes over 4,000 ft of wiring in comparison with Ford’s first-generation electrical SUV.
“The disruption to how we construct the car is each bit as essential because the product itself,” Subject mentioned.
Ford plans to desert the normal transferring meeting line for what it calls an “meeting tree” strategy. The car might be inbuilt three separate items – entrance, rear, and structural battery core – earlier than ultimate meeting. Subject mentioned this represents the primary time a car might be manufactured utilizing this methodology anyplace on the planet.
The effectivity enhancements are anticipated to permit Ford’s automobiles to realize comparable vary as rivals whereas utilizing batteries as much as one-third smaller. The corporate’s goal is a five-year value of possession decrease than buying a three-year-old Tesla Mannequin Y.
The midsize electrical pickup will provide extra passenger house than a Toyota RAV4 whereas together with each a entrance trunk and conventional truck mattress. The car will characteristic Ford’s BlueCruise hands-free driving system and what Subject described as a “ground-up, zonal electrical structure” enabling new digital experiences.
Subject emphasised that the electrical powertrain was important to the platform’s design philosophy, noting advantages together with dwelling charging functionality, cell energy plant performance, and superior driving dynamics from the battery’s low heart of gravity and on the spot electrical motor torque.
The chief mentioned he believes the first aggressive battleground, significantly towards Chinese language producers, will happen within the digital realm. He expressed confidence that Ford’s mixture of innovation capabilities and established manufacturing experience positions the corporate to succeed the place each legacy automakers and electrical car startups may wrestle.
Ford has not introduced pricing, vary specs, or launch timing for the midsize electrical pickup.
