Ford is taking a new step in electrification: an affordable electric pickup priced around $30,000 has officially entered the prototype phase. Jim Farley confirmed this, stating that the skunkworks team has completed a key development stage for the Universal EV Platform.

The company has moved away from the F-150 Lightning but not from the EV market. Reduced demand for expensive models pushed Ford to create a new architecture that allows for affordable, efficient, and technologically flexible electric vehicles. The first of these will be a mid-size electric pickup, with a launch planned for 2027.

Farley noted that this project has been one of the most challenging of his entire career. The Kentucky plant is already undergoing modernization, with mega-casting machines installed, and prototype assembly has begun using the new zonal architecture and proprietary software. According to the top executive, seeing all systems operate on the first samples confirms that an important milestone has been reached.

The Universal EV Platform will support at least eight models, including a compact crossover to replace the Escape and a new generation of the Mustang Mach-E. However, the CEO acknowledges that the project carries high risks, as Ford is combining such large-scale technological innovations in a single architecture for the first time.