Ford will develop two new EV platforms — one for trucks and one for SUVs.
Reuters reports that, according to sources close to the matter, Ford is gunning for two new dedicated platforms to take on Tesla, General Motors and Volkswagen as the electric battle heats up. While the company has yet to make an official announcement, Ford will likely outline the plan during an investor event Wednesday.
The Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker did previously say it aims to spend $22 billion through 2025, heavily investing in electrification across models in several global markets, including the Americas, Europe and in China. The company will also outline more details on its battery partnership with Korean SK Innovation, as well as its goals for autonomous technologies, said sources speaking to Reuters on the condition of anonymity.
Ford, like many automakers, does not comment on future products, and did not have any information to provide at this time.
The Mustang Mach-E is currently built on a dedicated EV platform, dubbed ‘GE’. As part of its development over the coming years, Ford will work on evolving that platform into the appropriately named GE2, to debut in mid-2023. That platform should underpin new Ford and Lincoln SUV models. Reports also suggest the same platform will eventually see a fully-electric Mustang coupe and a next-generation Mach-E.
What about the new truck platform?
Ford’s recently unveiled F-150 Lightning draws heavily on the recently updated conventional truck. In time, the Lightning too will ride on a new ‘TE1’ truck architecture by 2025, in its second generation. Those anonymous sources said the truck platform could underpin Ford and Lincoln’s large SUVs, like the Expedition and Navigator, as the current body-on-frame trucks are a base for the current models.
Apart from its own platforms, we expect to see Ford models derived from other electric platforms, either co-developed or in which the company invested. Volkswagen is working closely with the Blue Oval in a tech-sharing agreement, and European customers could see models based on the German automaker’s MEB platform used for the ID.4, among other cars. Ford also backed fledging EV maker Rivian, and while recent efforts on a joint venture were (at least temporarily) called off last year, it’s still possible we’ll see a Lincoln model based on a similar platform to the R1S SUV.
