Last summer, Ford Motor Company announced that it was developing an electric pickup truck with a starting price of about $30,000.
It will go on sale sometime in 2027, and the automaker has just begun releasing more details about the upcoming model, reports Telegraph.
At the heart of the project is a new manufacturing process, innovative design and a focus on increased efficiency. The truck will be the first model to use Ford's upcoming Universal Electric Vehicle platform, which the automaker says will be as fast as an EcoBoost Mustang and offer more passenger space than a Toyota RAV4.
The automaker tasked the pickup truck development teams with tracking “reward targets,” which are metrics designed to translate any efficiency improvements into battery cost savings and estimated range, as the automaker strives to make the new model affordable.
This includes a new manufacturing process that is designed to reduce complexity, such as using fewer structural parts and fastening elements.
According to the automaker, the Maverick has 146 structural parts in the front and rear. The new electric truck has just two, using a technique called aluminum unicasting, a first for Ford but just one of many ways the company is trying to keep costs down.
Aerodynamics are essential to an EV's range capability, and every small improvement in efficiency helps make the model more affordable.
For example, even a 1.0 millimeter increase in the height of the truck's roof would equate to an additional $1.30 in battery cost, or a loss of 0.055 miles of range. Instead, the roofline directs high-velocity air in a teardrop shape over the bed, allowing it to pass directly over it.
Under the truck, Ford made the bolt holes shallower, allowing air to move more efficiently, including around the tires and suspension.
Ford also designed the vehicle to direct the front tire track to the rear ones, "hiding" the rear wheels from the high-speed airflow around the vehicle and gaining an additional 4.5 miles of range.
The automaker is also mounting the drive unit as low as possible and includes an engine case designed to reduce turbulent drag. This low positioning also reduces the angle of the half-shafts and friction at the joints.
On the outside, Ford reduced the size of the mirror by 20 percent. It did this by combining the glass adjustment and the folding mirror actuator into a single unit, so the entire mirror moves to the perfect viewing angle. This added 1.5 miles of range.
The focus on making numerous small improvements has resulted in a truck with aerodynamic efficiency more than 15 percent higher than that of any other pickup truck on sale today.
Ford already revealed that the pickup truck will use prismatic lithium-iron-phosphate batteries that also serve as the vehicle's structural sub-assembly and floor. We now know that the truck will have a 400-volt battery and will run on a 48-volt system.
Specifics such as range remain a mystery, but the automaker revealed that it is developing the company's own electric vehicle charging ecosystem, including advanced technologies.
The truck will use a new circuit design that combines low-voltage, high-voltage and thermal sensing in a single part, reducing the number of parts and wiring.
Ford is also using a zoned architecture for the truck, reducing the number of control units throughout the vehicle. This has resulted in the electric vehicle's wiring harness being 4,000 meters shorter than the wiring harness used in Ford's first electric SUV. /Telegraph/
