As per a media report, Ford CEO Jim Farley made a surprising revelation during an earnings call: an undisclosed "skunkworks team" has been covertly developing a new electric vehicle (EV) platform outside of the company's conventional structure for the past two years. Farley described this team as functioning like a startup within Ford, with a singular focus on creating a low-cost electric platform that will serve as the basis for several upcoming vehicles.
While details about these forthcoming vehicles remain scant, Farley emphasized that the primary objective of the platform is affordability. He noted the challenge of high upfront expenses hindering the widespread adoption of EVs, despite the loyalty of buyers once they transition to electric vehicles. Farley underscored the platform's strategic aim to compete against "affordable Teslas and Chinese OEMs," which are perceived as formidable rivals in the EV market.
This initiative comes at a critical juncture, with Tesla Model Y undercutting Ford Mustang Mach-E by a considerable margin, and the entry-level Model 3 sedan priced nearly $8,000 lower. Despite the Mustang Mach-E and other EVs being among Ford's higher-priced models, the company has faced substantial losses, totaling $4.7 billion in 2023 alone. Consequently, the newly developed platform from the skunkworks team is poised to prioritize profitability across all aspects.
