Ford Makes One Thing Very Clear About New Electric Vehicles

Nov. 02, 2020 9:40 AM ET by Jay Traugott Industry News / 16 Comments

Specifically, how much will they cost?

There are big changes happening at Ford these days, most recently with Jim Farley taking over as CEO from Jim Hackett. Farley has been with the automaker since 2007 and, prior to that, served as vice president and general manager of Lexus. Needless to say, the guy has years of industry experience. This also makes him very well-suited for his new role leading one of the world's biggest automakers which also happens to be pursuing an aggressive electric vehicle strategy.

The Ford Mustang Mach-E is only the beginning and, later this month, an all-electric Transit commercial van will debut. During a recent conference call with analysts, via Ward's Auto, Farley made clear Ford's electric plans, including one big focal point: price.

"We are not going after the $100,000-plus market. These are affordable vehicles," said Farley. It's a good sign when most new EVs are exorbitant in their prices.

Six-figure EVs will likely be considered luxury or ultra-niche, two segments Ford does not normally compete. The only exception is the GT supercar. For over a century, Ford has prided itself on being an affordable automaker for the masses and the move to electrification should not change this.

He also gave clarification on Ford's electrified commercial vehicle strategy. "There's been a lot written about the electrification of our industry and Ford's bet is different," he said. "We're betting on a full lineup of commercial electrified vehicles." Aside from that segment, Ford continues to be in various stages of development of mainstream EVs, such as the upcoming battery-electric F-150.

On the topic of EV prices, Farley added they will range from $20,000 to $70,000, and that four North American assembly facilities have been assigned future EV production. Ford has not yet specifically announced its next EV(s) following the reveal of the battery-electric F-150 and Transit, but there's a fairly decent chance another crossover will arrive, albeit one with less focus on performance when compared to the Mach-E.

The seventh-generation Mustang could also debut next year as a 2022 model and not only is a hybrid variant all but guaranteed, an all-electric Mustang should not be ruled out. Although it probably wouldn't be the cheapest Mustang trim in the lineup, it'll still be affordable enough.