Ford turns to F1 and bounties to build a $30,000 electric truck

Ford plans to launch an affordable electric truck next year starting at $30,000, aiming to compete with Chinese automakers while maintaining profit margins. This initiative follows Ford’s discontinuation of the battery-electric F-150 Lightning and reflects a strategic pivot toward a new line of EVs built on a universal electric vehicle platform (UEV). The UEV, Ford’s first ground-up EV platform, will initially underpin a mid-sized truck and later support various vehicle types including sedans, SUVs, and commercial vans. Key innovations include the use of single-piece aluminum unicastings to reduce parts and speed assembly, lithium iron phosphate batteries licensed from China’s CATL, and a revamped production system designed to increase manufacturing speed by 15%. To achieve cost efficiency and performance, Ford assembled a team drawing talent from Formula 1, Apple, Lucid Motors, Rivian, Tesla, and a recent startup acquisition. This team employs a bounty program that assigns numerical efficiency metrics to every vehicle aspect, encouraging design decisions