Ford working on sub $25,000 electric models to counter China

The Holy Grail of the EV market is currently the sub-25,000 dollar or euro model, a goal that every prominent manufacturer envisions. Ford’s CEO Jim Farley has announced that the company is working on a new, low-cost EV platform to bring a sub-$25,000 electric SUV and pickup truck to market, but the question remains: when?

Officially, not much is known about Ford’s new EV platform. Farley has told media and investors that a “super-talented skunkworks team” is working on the project, led by Alan Clarke, who previously was at the top of Tesla’s engineering teams for the Model 3 and Model Y.

Sub-$25,000 SUV and pickup?

But no official announcement has yet been made about when the fruits of these labors will be unveiled, nor even what they will be. Bloomberg, which quotes sources familiar with the matter, reports that an electric pickup and SUV will be the first models on this cheap platform, with a launch date of 2026 and a starting price of $25,000. This is a fair assumption to make, with SUVs and pickups being the most popular segments in the US.

What is certain, however, is that Ford feels the Chinese competition breathing down its neck. For now, the Inflation Reduction Act is protecting American manufacturers thanks to subsidies and tax incentives. Still, with manufacturers like BYD able to produce ever-cheaper models like the sub-$10,000 Seagull, those might become interesting even with tariffs and no subsidies.

Alone or with a partner?

It is also unclear if Ford wants to partner with another manufacturer to keep costs low. Recently, it has collaborated with VW for its MEB platform and both companies’ new commercial vehicles, but it seems the Americans want to carve their own path for this new platform. A partnership with GM is also being considered to combat the Chinese competition.