Ford Motor Firm has developed a brand new EV platform designed to cut back manufacturing complexity and prices, based on Doug Discipline, 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, Discipline detailed the three-year growth course of, describing how Ford assembled a small group led by Alan Clarke, previously of Tesla, to work on the undertaking in secrecy at a California facility. The group operated with minimal oversight and was tasked with difficult standard automotive engineering approaches.
“Physics just isn’t proprietary,” Discipline mentioned, explaining the group’s philosophy of deep programs integration that led them to seek out methods for particular person elements to carry out a number of features 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 group eradicated three-quarters of the elements, two-thirds of the welds, and half of the fasteners. {The electrical} system removes over 4,000 toes of wiring in comparison with Ford’s first-generation electrical SUV.
“The disruption to how we construct the automobile is each bit as necessary because the product itself,” Discipline mentioned.
Ford plans to desert the standard shifting meeting line for what it calls an “meeting tree” method. The automobile will likely be in-built three separate items – entrance, rear, and structural battery core – earlier than closing meeting. Discipline mentioned this represents the primary time a automobile will likely be manufactured utilizing this methodology wherever on this planet.
The effectivity enhancements are anticipated to permit Ford’s automobiles to attain comparable vary as opponents whereas utilizing batteries as much as one-third smaller. The corporate’s goal is a five-year price of possession decrease than buying a three-year-old Tesla Mannequin Y.
The midsize electrical pickup will provide extra passenger area than a Toyota RAV4 whereas together with each a entrance trunk and conventional truck mattress. The automobile will characteristic Ford’s BlueCruise hands-free driving system and what Discipline described as a “ground-up, zonal electrical structure” enabling new digital experiences.
Discipline emphasised that the electrical powertrain was important to the platform’s design philosophy, noting advantages together with residence charging functionality, cell energy plant performance, and superior driving dynamics from the battery’s low heart of gravity and prompt electrical motor torque.
The manager mentioned he believes the first aggressive battleground, notably 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 automobile startups may battle.
Ford has not introduced pricing, vary specs, or launch timing for the midsize electrical pickup.
