mobilityThe Verge· 7/20/2026, 7:18:45 PM8.0

Ford’s $30,000 electric truck: all the news about the company’s big EV re-do

The end of the Ford F-150 Lightning was also the start of a new era for the automaker. After failing to capture the market with the electric version of its popular F-Series truck, Ford is going back to the drawing board with its Universal Electric Vehicle Platform. The first offering will be a $30,000 electric truck, engineered for efficiency and also — perhaps most importantly — profitability. The truck will be revealed in 2027, but Ford plans on building a whole family of low-cost electric vehicles at its Kentucky assembly plant. The heavily camouflaged truck has already been spotted out in the wild, with observers noting that it seems even smaller than the Maverick. Success isn’t guaranteed. Ford has struggled to make profitable EVs, forcing the company to take a staggering $19.5 billion hit on its EV investments in 2025. But Ford still sees EVs as the future — just not oversize ones with “no path to profitability,” as executives say. - Emojis as camouflage. The Drive has new pics of Ford’s $30,000 prototype electric truck, giving us our best look at the pint-sized truck’s real door handles and giant interior touchscreen. But maybe the most interesting aspect, as noticed by mobility investor Reilly Brennan, is the new camouflage that features soccer balls, sail boats, hearts, and other emoji-like symbols. No poops, fortunately. - Ford’s $30K electric truck could be smaller than a Maverick. The Autopian spotted the highly anticipated EV in Long Beach this week. Although it was heavily camouflaged, the outlet was able to estimate its measurements to be around 64-inches tall and about 195-inches long, which would make it a little smaller than a Ford Maverick. That’s extremely interesting to me as a person who thinks most trucks today are way too big for their britches. Sure, it’s no kei truck, but for Ford, it’s practically microscopic. Bring on the baby trucks! Ford isn’t sending the clearest signals regarding its EV future. We got a glimpse of its Universal EV (UEV) Project last February, but then it pulled the plug on the F-150 Lightning, which is regarded as one of the more successful electric pickup trucks to date. The climate surrounding electric vehicles hasn’t helped, either, between loosening emissions rules, tariffs, and the elimination of the federal EV tax credit. But recently, after touring Ford’s less-than-two-year-old Electric Vehicle Development Center (EVDC) located in Long Beach, California, I have a better sense of the company’s current position. Ford says it will continue to build EVs, doing everything possible to make its next model hit a $30,000 price point. Read Article >Ford is shaking things up as it relates to its EV and software teams. Doug Field, who left Apple five years ago to helm Ford’s multibillion-dollar bet on electric vehicles and software, is stepping down next month. Getting a promotion will be Alan Clarke, the ex-Tesla engineer who now leads Ford’s California-based skunkworks lab. Clarke’s new title will be…

💡 AI analysis: Ford's development of a low-cost electric truck represents a strategic shift toward cost-centric manufacturing to overcome the profitability limits of large EVs, reshaping global EV competition into a battle for economies of scale.
Related entities
View original (The Verge) →