Ford Motor Firm has developed a brand new EV platform designed to cut back manufacturing complexity and prices, in line with 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 staff led by Alan Clarke, previously of Tesla, to work on the undertaking in secrecy at a California facility. The staff operated with minimal oversight and was tasked with difficult typical automotive engineering approaches.
“Physics will not be proprietary,” Discipline mentioned, explaining the staff’s philosophy of deep programs integration that led them to seek out methods for particular person components to carry out a number of features whereas eliminating complexity.
The brand new platform incorporates what Ford calls “unicasting,” the place giant, single aluminum components function each structural physique parts and bases for sub-assemblies. In comparison with a conventional pickup physique, the staff eradicated three-quarters of the components, 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 car is each bit as necessary because the product itself,” Discipline mentioned.
Ford plans to desert the standard transferring meeting line for what it calls an “meeting tree” strategy. The car can be inbuilt three separate items – entrance, rear, and structural battery core – earlier than remaining meeting. Discipline mentioned this represents the primary time a car can be manufactured utilizing this methodology anyplace on this planet.
The effectivity enhancements are anticipated to permit Ford’s autos to realize related vary as opponents 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 area than a Toyota RAV4 whereas together with each a entrance trunk and conventional truck mattress. The car will function 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 immediate electrical motor torque.
The chief 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 car startups would possibly battle.
Ford has not introduced pricing, vary specs, or launch timing for the midsize electrical pickup.
