Ford Motor Firm has developed a brand new EV platform designed to cut back manufacturing complexity and prices, based on Doug Discipline, the corporate’s chief EV, digital and design officer. The Ford Common Electrical Automobile Platform will underpin the automaker’s first midsize, four-door electrical pickup truck.
Talking at Ford’s Louisville Meeting Plant, Discipline detailed the three-year growth course of, describing how Ford assembled a small staff led by Alan Clarke, previously of Tesla, to work on the venture in secrecy at a California facility. The staff operated with minimal oversight and was tasked with difficult standard automotive engineering approaches.
“Physics isn’t proprietary,” Discipline stated, explaining the staff’s philosophy of deep techniques integration that led them to search out methods for particular person components to carry out a number of features whereas eliminating complexity.
The brand new platform incorporates what Ford calls “unicasting,” the place massive, single aluminum components function each structural physique components and bases for sub-assemblies. In comparison with a conventional pickup physique, the staff eradicated three-quarters of the components, two-thirds of the welds, and half of the fasteners. {The electrical} system removes over 4,000 ft of wiring in comparison with Ford’s first-generation electrical SUV.
“The disruption to how we construct the car is each bit as necessary because the product itself,” Discipline stated.
Ford plans to desert the standard shifting meeting line for what it calls an “meeting tree” method. The car will probably be inbuilt three separate items – entrance, rear, and structural battery core – earlier than remaining meeting. Discipline stated this represents the primary time a car will probably be manufactured utilizing this methodology anyplace on the earth.
The effectivity enhancements are anticipated to permit Ford’s automobiles to attain comparable vary as opponents whereas utilizing batteries as much as one-third smaller. The corporate’s goal is a five-year value of possession decrease than buying a three-year-old Tesla Mannequin Y.
The midsize electrical pickup will supply extra passenger house than a Toyota RAV4 whereas together with each a entrance trunk and conventional truck mattress. The car will function Ford’s BlueCruise hands-free driving system and what Discipline described as a “ground-up, zonal electrical structure” enabling new digital experiences.
Discipline emphasised that the electrical powertrain was important to the platform’s design philosophy, noting advantages together with dwelling charging functionality, cell energy plant performance, and superior driving dynamics from the battery’s low heart of gravity and instantaneous electrical motor torque.
The chief stated he believes the first aggressive battleground, notably in opposition to Chinese language producers, will happen within the digital realm. He expressed confidence that Ford’s mixture of innovation capabilities and established manufacturing experience positions the corporate to succeed the place each legacy automakers and electrical car startups would possibly wrestle.
Ford has not introduced pricing, vary specs, or launch timing for the midsize electrical pickup.
