Ford Motor Company has made big advances on the EV front in recent years, bringing three popular products to market in the guise of the Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning and E-Transit.
The F-150 Lightning is arguably the more important product of the three, and Ford has already increased production to 150,000 units a year under CEO Jim Farley's watch. The chief executive is also pushing for Mustang Mach-E annual production of 200,000 units.
Obviously, this production ramp is costly for the company, and Ford executives noted in an earnings call with analysts on February 2 that it is underperforming in a key metric: the cost of goods sold as a percentage of revenue.
Ford CEO Jim Farley said the automaker will simplify its EVs and make them easier to scale up in the future, which will allow it to compete in a potential price war. He also made comments about the next-gen EVs, including the F-150 Lightning's successor.
"Now we are deep into development of our second-generation EVs, including our next-generation electric full-size pickup—which, by the way, is awesome," Farley said according to Green Car Reports. He previously said the truck will be made in "incredibly high volume" at Ford's upcoming BlueOval City plant in Tennessee.
Gallery: Ford F-150 Lightning Production
He added that Ford's next-generation EVs will be fully software updatable, thanks to a brand-new electric architecture, while the vehicle platforms will be "radically simplified" – i.e. with far fewer fasteners and brackets.
"Imagine three body styles, each with volume potential of up to one million units, and just a handful of orderable combinations," Farley said, adding that would translate into better quality and lower manufacturing costs, among other benefits. Speaking of simplification, Farley said Ford wants to "design the smallest possible battery for competitive size."
In order to further simplify production and cut costs, Farley said Ford would also offer a minimum number of available body styles – or "top hats" – for its future EVs. "On the category side, we do not want to have too many top hats, because that costs a lot to engineer. We want to have minimum choice for customers," he noted.
Ford's CEO also mentioned the company's no-haggle Model e program that starts in January 2024. Already adopted by nearly two-thirds of dealers, the program will allow Ford to sell EVs "in high volume with virtually no inventory" at non-negotiated prices set by the local dealer. The e-commerce platform will also allow remote pick up and delivery.
