Ford Bets Big on Cheaper EVs After $12 Billion Losses — Calls It Their ‘Model T Moment’

Ford says it’s done playing catch-up in the electric vehicle game — and it’s tearing up the rulebook to prove it.

On Monday, the Detroit automaker unveiled a radical new EV production plan aimed at slashing costs, speeding up assembly, and finally putting affordable battery-powered cars in the driveway of everyday buyers. Think of it as Ford’s second “Model T moment,” CEO Jim Farley told workers at the company’s Louisville, Kentucky plant.

The first car out of the gate? A midsize, four-door electric pickup truck starting at around $30,000, due in 2027. It’ll seat five, pack a front trunk and a bed big enough for a surfboard, and — Ford claims — power your house for nearly a week. A larger electric truck will follow in 2028.

The urgency is real. Ford’s EV unit has bled more than $12 billion in the last 2½ years, including $2.2 billion in just the first half of 2025. Sales of its Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning, and E-Transit van have slumped 12% this year. Meanwhile, Chinese giant BYD is churning out cheaper EVs by the millions, and Tesla’s price cuts have squeezed profit margins across the board.

Farley’s answer is a total rethink of how Ford builds cars. Gone is the century-old single moving assembly line. In its place: an “assembly tree” where the front, rear, and battery platform are built separately, then joined together. That, plus giant one-piece castings and simpler wiring systems, means 20% fewer parts, 25% fewer fasteners, and 15% faster production.

The new trucks will use lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries — cheaper, cobalt-free, and sourced from Ford’s own $3 billion Michigan battery plant. The Louisville plant itself is getting a $2 billion makeover, with the promise of keeping 2,200 union jobs.

Ford admits it’s a gamble.

“There are no guarantees with this project,” Farley said. “The auto industry is full of ‘affordable’ cars that flopped.”

But he insists this is different — a ground-up design built for profit, not just to make headlines.

If it works, Ford could close the cost gap with Chinese EV makers and finally compete toe-to-toe with Tesla on price. If it doesn’t, this “Model T moment” might look more like a Model Oops.

The New York Times, the Verge, Investor’s Business Daily, the Hill contributed to this report.