Ford said she would invest $ 2 billion on Monday to turn her Louisville assembly into factories that can make a new generation of affordable EVS, starting with a medium -sized pickup, with a $ 30,000 base price, which is planned to start in 2027.
This is not a standard factory update. To reduce production costs, Ford increased the moving assembly lines system, which was released by Henry Ford, its founder more than 112 years ago.
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The desire of a car manufacturer to change a century -old system that has made the Ford’s household name reflects the large juggling act by selling an affordable electric vehicle that can be made in the US faster, more efficiently and with less parts by preserving profit margins. As the Ford Chief Digital and Design Officer, Doug Field, not only not only reduces individual costs, but also changes to the car manufacturer to compete with China.
Ford CEO Jim Farley described a new production system, EV and $ 2 billion investment as a bet.
“There are no guarantees in this project,” he said during the event, directly broadcast from the Kentucky factory. “We do so many new things that I can’t say with 100% uncertainty that all of this will be right, that is, betting betting. There is a risk.”
This bet started a few years ago with a Skunkworks team, with about 500 people in California – the former Tesla executive authorities Alan Clarke and filled with companies like Tesla, Rivian, Apple and Lucid Motors. The team, which is divided between Palo Alto and the new office in Long Bych, has developed a new production system and the main vehicle platform that will be used at the Louisville Factory.
The end result is what Ford calls the “universal production system”, which changes its one conveyor line into a three -branch assembly tree. Ford has also developed a universal EV platform that will use lithium iron phosphate batteries using Tech licensed from Chinese CATL and made at the new $ 3 billion Blueoval Battery Park factory in Michigan. At the factory that is expected to be connected online in 2026, 1,700 hourly workers will work.
The new EV platform will consist of large one part aluminum unicasings, which consumes much less parts and will allow the front and rear of the vehicle to be collected separately on two branches. The third branch is probably most noticeable; Here, the structural battery will be assembled in seats, consoles and carpets. The three components will come together at the end of the line to form a vehicle.
