Ford's EV Plans - Very Positive News [ADMIN WARNING: NO POLITICS]

[mkhuffman]

There have been a lot of people saying they think Ford has given up on the EV market due to their shift to EREV vehicles. I had a hard time agreeing with that position, and really thought Ford likely has a long range plan for how to win when all everyone wants is a BEV. They would have to be idiots to ignore where the market is going (which has very little to do with government policy).

This article reveals my suspicion was correct: Ford knows BEVs will eventually dominate the vehicle markets, and if they cannot compete with China, they will go out of business. So they better develop vehicles that are competitive while there is still time to do that.

https://www.motortrend.com/news/for...cheapest-ev-motors-for-its-30k-electric-truck

The Universal EV project all hinges on a major rethink of how Ford designs and manufactures vehicles with an aim to slash thousands of dollars in per-unit cost. To that end, the Universal EV is built with 25 percent fewer fasteners than the typical vehicle and a wiring harness 4,000 feet shorter and 22 pounds lighter than what went into the Mustang Mach-E. The next-gen truck combines dozens of structural components into large aluminum unicastings and the top of the battery pack doubles as the floor of the cabin.​

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The automaker claims the next-gen EV will roll off the line at its Louisville, Kentucky, assembly plant 15 percent faster than the Ford Escape that was previously assembled there. The key to that, Field said, isn’t necessarily automating tasks that otherwise be carried out by humans but eliminating tasks entirely. Ford has previously announced the number of workstations in the Louisville plant will be reduced by 40 percent.​

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[Snakebitten]

It doesn't matter what Ford's EV intentions are for many of their current EV owners.

It's almost like they'd prefer Ford to completely bleed out than to pivot or adjust from their current/previous EV kool-aid drunkfest.

Selfishly speaking, I'm thrilled that Ford built me my GTPE. It's absolutely fantastic, in my opinion. But I can see the folly of how they went about it. (along with the Lightning)

They have earned my respect for just how capable they are at building vehicles. I'm looking forward to seeing what they have coming.

 

[mkhuffman]

It doesn't matter what Ford's EV intentions are for many of their current EV owners.

It's almost like they'd prefer Ford to completely bleed out than to pivot or adjust from their current/previous EV kool-aid drunkfest.

Selfishly speaking, I'm thrilled that Ford built me my GTPE. It's absolutely fantastic, in my opinion. But I can see the folly of how they went about it. (along with the Lightning)

They have earned my respect for just how capable they are at building vehicles. I'm looking forward to seeing what they have coming.

I have said/posted, and still believe, that the MME was a home run for Ford. Not from a profitability perspective, of course. I am still amazed at how great a vehicle it is.

While Ford has to start over and do it right, I am sure they have learned a ton about what to do right after all the Lightnings and MMEs sold and serviced. Certainly they didn't see the HVBJB issue in advance, and you can bet that will never happen again.

 

[HuntingPudel]

<SNIP>
Certainly they didn't see the HVBJB issue in advance, and you can bet that will never happen again.

One can only hope that their Marketing Department has learned from the “So fast it almost made me wet my pants” “this car is track-ready” debacle on the GT-PE video and the 5 second limit. Marketing can’t make claims that Engineering and Production can’t meet. -A salty dog, err… former early adopter of the GT-PE.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

There have been a lot of people saying they think Ford has given up on the EV market due to their shift to EREV vehicles

That’s not my personal complaint. While. I am in general vague agreement with the premise you’ve stated, “…Ford has given up …”, my major complaint is the inherent dishonesty about the changes they’ve made and the direction they’re going. They’re trying to spin this as a win for EV’s when it’s really a wholesale retreat.

It doesn't matter what Ford's EV intentions are for many of their current EV owners.

It matters. But their intentions are not what they’ve publicly stated imo.

It's almost like they'd prefer Ford to completely bleed out than to pivot or adjust from their current/previous EV

No, we expect honesty. They’re not providing it. I 100% guarantee that Ford won’t even be on my radar when I start seriously shopping for a new EV.

 

[GreaseMonkey]

Glad they have a good motor solution. Maybe Ford can be a tier 1 supplier to BYD and Tesla. If they don’t get their shit together, that’s what they’re slated to be: a supplier to serious car company with a real vision and a detailed plan.

 

[mkhuffman]

But no frunk. Many like the frunk. Like me.

 

[Blue PonyE]

"Besides, you only need a >30 kwH battery once or twice a years for long road trips so why do you need a 91 kwH battery. Just start using the ICE inside the Mach E GT EREV."

I would like to see swapable batteries. Drive into a service center, automatically undo a few bolts, drop in a fresh battery, and off you go similar to the time it takes to refuel an ICE vehicle.
You could even have a city battery with smaller capacity and a road battery with a larger capacity.

If only I were dictator.

 

[Maui]

I thought I read in a story a while back that someone had the idea of swapable batteries where when you wanted to go on a trip you come in switch out the commuter batter for a long-range battery. Wouldn’t that be interesting?

as for your service center idea… “Drive into a service center, automatically undo a few bolts, drop in a fresh battery” my first thought was jiffy lube type company forgetting to put all the bolts back in

 

[Rustic Roads]

Not for me, thanks. I have some ideas for improvement for the Mach-E, but none of them have anything to do with its range. Adding a small engine and all its associated bits is not something I would ever consider a good idea.

We're past the days in which the Volt was introduced. It was a great solution for the time, but small cars no longer have need for gas engines. A full-sized pickup hauling horses up a mountain or across Wyoming? Sure, give it an EREV solution for that small edge case, or just leave those people buy their diesels like they always have. Not everything has to have a battery. I still want there to be a V8-powered, stick-shift, and dual-exhaust Mustang coupe. But for daily commuting, very very few people need what a BEV cannot deliver.

As far as the Mach-E GT and what I would imagine is a wish by many people to have a trackable vehicle: Ford has already made such a variant of the Mach-E (was it called the 1400?). My guess is that they know that as much as people say they want it, they know that it can't be sold at a volume and a price that the market will support. We need to let such pipe dreams be dreams and deal with the reality in front of us.

Trying to persuade Ford to make an unsellable vehicle would be like trying to convince them to make the Lightning all over again in this marketplace. It would be misdirected energy and a distraction from better goals.

 

[ericNdfw]

As a former owner of two Volts (2013 and 2015), both of which I loved at the time, as well as a 2014 Fusion Energi PHEV, I have no use for an EREV or PHEV after owning a BEV. The only reason I had those Volts was because I wanted an EV but wouldn't shell out what they wanted for Tesla Model S/X.

The added complexity of the ICE powertrain is silly now that batteries are so much cheaper than they were 10+ years ago. Every one of them that has come out has failed in the market with the possible exception being the Prius Prime/PHEV. I predict the Lightning EREV will have modest sales and be canned soon after the new Ford mid-size BEV truck hits the streets. (Either that or they'll put a BEV one back out at that time.)

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