Ford said Monday it will invest $2 billion to transform its Louisville Assembly Plant into a factory capable of making a new generation of affordable EVs, starting with a mid-sized pickup truck with a base price of $30,000 that is slated to launch in 2027.
This is not a standard factory upgrade. To reduce the cost of manufacturing, Ford has upended the moving assembly line system launched by its founder Henry Ford more than 112 years ago.
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The automaker’s willingness to change the century-old system that made Ford a household name reflects the high-stakes juggling act of selling a line of affordable electric vehicles that could be made in the United States faster, more efficiently, and with fewer parts all while preserving profit margins. And as Ford’s chief EV, digital, and design officer Doug Field noted Monday it’s not just about driving down individual costs down, but a change that will allow the automaker to compete with China.
Ford CEO Jim Farley described the new production system, line of EVs, and $2 billion investment as a bet.
“There are no guarantees with this project,” he said during an event live streamed from the Kentucky plant. “We’re doing so many new things I can’t tell you with 100% uncertainty that this will all go just right, it is a bet. There is risk.”
That bet began several years ago with skunkworks team of about 500 people in California — led by former Tesla executive Alan Clarke and filled with talent from companies like Tesla, Rivian, Apple, and Lucid Motors. The team, which is split between Palo Alto and a new office in Long Beach, developed the new production system and underlying vehicle platform that will be used in the Louisville factory.
The end result is what Ford calls the “universal production system,” which changes its single conveyor line into a three-branched assembly tree. Ford has also developed a universal EV platform that will use lithium iron phosphate batteries using tech licensed from China’s CATL and manufactured at its new $3 billion BlueOval Battery Park factory in Michigan. That factory, which is expected to come online in 2026, will employ 1,700 hourly workers.
The new EV platform will consist of large single-piece aluminum unicastings that uses far fewer parts and will allow the front and rear of the vehicle to be assembled separately on two of the branches. The third branch is perhaps most notable; this is where the structural battery will be assembled with seats, consoles, and carpeting. The three components will come together at the end of the line to form the vehicle.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
