FoMoCo has maintained for some time now that the first-ever Ford F-150 BEV will debut in 2022. However, it’s fair to wonder if that timeline has changed, especially given the fact that the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) just ruled that Ford’s electric F-150 battery supplier – SK Innovation – misappropriated trade secrets against its rival, LG Chem. However, Ford can still obtain batteries from SK for four years, and now the automaker has also confirmed that the Ford F-150 BEV remains on track for a 2022 debut.
Ford’s chief product platform and operations officer, Hau Thai-Tang, delivered the news during a J.P. Morgan conference call this week. Thai-Tang did acknowledge that the electric F-150’s launch is heavily reliant on the completion of the new Ford Rouge Electric Vehicle Center – where the pickup will be built. Regardless, Thai-Tang confirmed that the Ford F-150 BEV launch will follow the launch of the Ford E-Transit, which will be built at the Ford Kansas City Assembly Plant beginning in Q4 of 2021.
Ford recently doubled its investment into EVs following the launch of the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E and is planning on increasing its F-150 BEV production by 50 percent, as Ford Authority recently reported, even though the automaker isn’t quite sure how many people will be buying one. Ford is also adding 200 additional jobs specifically for electric Ford F-150 production and investing $150 million to build EV motors and transaxles at the Ford Van Dyke Transmission Plant.
Ford says the all-electric F-150 will be the most powerful, fastest-accelerating, most capable truck in the lineup, with the lowest expected lifetime total cost of operation. It will bear some unique design details compared to the rest of the F-150 lineup, as Ford Authority recently reported, with several different sheetmetal components including the front end and front trunk. It will also feature unique lighting elements, which makes the two models easy to differentiate visually. However, the F-150 EV will still be immediately recognizable as an F-150.
The EV truck’s body and paintwork will still be completed alongside ICE-powered models at the Ford Dearborn Truck Plant, though battery installation will occur at the new Rouge plant. Ford has already teased the look of its first-ever electric F-150, as well as released a video of a Ford F-150 EV prototype undergoing rigorous testing. Since then, we’ve learned quite a few key details about the F-150 EV, including the fact that it will use a battery chemistry unique to the model.
We’ll have much more on the F-150 BEV very soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Ford F-Series news, Ford F-150 news, and continuous Ford news coverage.
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