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Ford resets EV plans with a $30,000 truck for 2027
After ending the F-150 Lightning, Ford is rebuilding its EV strategy around a smaller $30,000 pickup and a new low-cost platform.
Image: The Verge
Ford is scrapping its old electric-truck playbook and betting on something much smaller: a $30,000 electric pickup due in 2027. The new model will be the first vehicle on Ford’s Universal Electric Vehicle Platform, which the company says will underpin a family of low-cost EVs built at its Kentucky assembly plant.
The shift follows a bruising stretch for Ford’s EV business. The company discontinued the F-150 Lightning, abandoned plans for the next-generation electric truck codenamed T3 and an electric commercial van, and took a $19.5 billion writedown on its EV investment in 2025. Ford has also said it expects to lose over $5 billion on EVs and software this year alone.
Prototype sightings suggest Ford’s upcoming truck may be even smaller than the Maverick. The Autopian estimated the camouflaged vehicle at around 64 inches tall and about 195 inches long after spotting it in Long Beach. The Drive also published photos showing real door handles, a large interior touchscreen, and camouflage covered in soccer balls, sailboats, hearts, and other emoji-like symbols.
Ford’s rethink is happening amid broader management and strategy changes. Doug Field, the executive who joined from Apple five years ago to lead Ford’s EV and software push, is stepping down next month. He will be succeeded in part by Alan Clarke, a former Tesla engineer who now leads Ford’s California skunkworks lab and will continue overseeing development of the UEV platform as vice president of advanced development projects.
Ford has framed the new approach as a search for EVs with a clear path to profit: smaller vehicles, unique designs, and smaller batteries. At the same time, it is increasing its focus on hybrids, extended-range EVs, gas-powered trucks and SUVs, and even battery storage systems tied to demand from data center construction.
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According to Ford executives, the oversized electric-truck formula had “no path to profitability.” The company now sees its best chance in a four-door, midsized pickup aimed at bringing EV pricing down far enough to revive demand without repeating the Lightning’s economics.
Ford has called the manufacturing approach behind the new platform its “Model T moment.” After years of chasing Tesla-scale EV ambitions, the company’s next big swing is a smaller truck with a much lower target price — and far less room for another miss.
Frontier Editor
Dan is our resident futurist, covering electric mobility, space exploration, and the smart home. He's interested in atoms just as much as bits. Whether it's a new battery chemistry, a reusable rocket, or a protocol that finally makes IoT devices talk to each other, Dan breaks down the engineering that pushes humanity forward.
via The Verge
