Small EVs are a big market abroad—a stark contrast to the gigantic offerings like the Ford F-150 Lightning and the plethora of electric SUVs that are prevalent in the U.S. But the small EV market here is growing, and Ford is getting in on the action. The automaker is pivoting to smaller—and cheaper—electric vehicles.
Ford CEO Jim Farley first revealed the pivot on an earnings call in early February. “We made a bet in silence two years ago,” he said, according to MotorTrend, revealing that a skunk works team acting as a startup began working on a low-cost EV back then, in order to better compete with electric vehicles from Chinese automakers.
Now, there are more details on just how affordable those new Ford EVs will be: Bloomberg Businessweek reported this week that the first model will arrive in late 2026, starting around $25,000. (The F-150 Lightning starts at $54,995, while Ford’s electric SUV, the Mustang Mach-E, starts around $43,000.)
Ford is working on its small EVs through a “specialized team” that is based in Irvine, California, Bloomberg reports. That team—made up of fewer than 100 people—is led by Alan Clarke, who was previously at Tesla for 12 years. There, he led the engineering of the Model Y, the company’s top seller; Clarke moved to Ford in 2022.
The compact EVs for Ford will be powered by a “lithium iron phosphate battery, which is about 30% cheaper than traditional lithium-ion batteries,” according to Bloomberg, noting that the company is continuing to explore even cheaper battery tech.
“All of our EV teams are ruthlessly focused on cost and efficiency in our EV products, because the ultimate competition is going to be the affordable Tesla and the Chinese OEMs [original equipment manufacturers],” Farley said on the February analyst call. Tesla is also working on a cheaper EV, which is also expected to go for $25,000. Tesla CEO Elon Musk first mentioned that goal in 2020; now, he’s said that the cheaper model will launch in 2025.
Is this for road trip purposes, or do you actually drive 200+ miles any given day? If it's the latter, that would easily be 50k+ miles per year.
Not at all for road trip purposes. That's just for commuting and basic use. I know what I need after driving an EV for a couple years.
I'm not doubting at all. My car only has about 130 miles of range in good weather, but I typically drive less than 20 miles in a day. I thought the range was going to be an issue when I got the car, but it hasn't been at all. My partner drives way more than I do, though, so she still has an ICE car.
I think that's the key. I think EVs work great for a large swath of the densely populated East Coast and some fairly urban places in the rest of the country. But all of the midsize towns and small cities in the South, Midwest, and West are going to be very tough to manage in an EV.
Would it cover your needs 80% of the time? Absolutely. But in reality you need a second vehicle that burns fuel to cover that 20%. The places where this is most true are also the poorest places in the county. The places where buying one vehicle that can do everything is critical. They also have the harshest weather and are much closer to situations where survival is vehicle dependent. The vehicles have to be so inexpensive you almost can't afford to not have one or they have to do everything better than their ICE counterparts for similar money to get widespread adoption.
I've been saying for a while now that HOAs need to have a small pool of pickups to time share. People need pickups occasionally, but definitely not daily for the vast majority. Their fuel consumption, emissions, road wear and safety make a huge impact. Needlessly, most of the time. A small HOA fleet would allow for people in suburbs to focus on people transporters for their daily drivers.
Uhaul and Home Depot (among others) rent trucks. When I moved, I had no furniture and no car. I biked past a yard sale with a bunch of things I wanted, told them what I wanted, rode to Uhaul, rented a truck, and brought a couch, a desk, a table, and 4 chairs home with me, for a rental fee of $30 as I recall, and not much more to buy all that furniture.
There are reasonable reasons for wanting a greater range than you expect to use on a regular basis. Not the least of which is a power outage or your own home charger choosing an inopportune moment to kick the bucket, as you are your own gas station manager.
What the fuck? Have you not heard of public charging infrastructure?
Tell me you know fuck about shit when it comes to public charging infrastructure without telling me you know fuck about shit when it comes to public charging infrastructure. Public charging SUUUUUUCKS. All the apps suck. You have to give your CC information to god knows who half the time. At least 3 of the chargers are down AT ALL TIMES. Is there even a station there? Who the fuck knows? Also, where the fuck is the station. It says it should be here, but it isnt? Oh its behind that dumpster where those chronic ass mfrs are smoking fentanyl. Cool. Oh the charging companies website is down for scheduled maintenance? I have have not a fucking clue who this company is so how would I know their maintenance schedule. The QR code doesnt work. Oh it does work and it took my money. Its not turning on. Fuck now I have to call their customer service. Ok what time is it in India? They don't own this charger any more? Why is their gum on the handle of the charger? Oh thats not.. OH DEAR GOD ITS NOT GUM! WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE PARKING LOT CLOSES IN 10 MINUTES I NEED AT LEAST AN HOUR OF CHARGE TO GET HOME! HOW DO YOU KNOW I"M NOT A CUSTOMER!?
We're now driving again at 1% charge. Its 3AM and we're still not home from the airport. I guess we can try the Safeway?
Yes, and I personally would rather avoid paying a premium over the electricity I can get at home. If I intend to stick to that, then I have to be prepared for when Murphy shows his unwelcome face.