Midsize Ford EV Pickup Will Use Batteries From Threatened Plant

We’ve known for some time now that the first Blue Oval product riding on an under-development low-cost Ford EV platform will be a mid-size pickup, which could be one of eight different body styles to use that same architecture. These future Ford EV models will be laser-focused on cutting costs wherever possible to make them as affordable as possible, and won’t be sold with fancy tech like advanced autonomous driving features, either. Now, we’re learning what sort of battery will power the new mid-size Ford EV pickup as well, though that piece of information doesn’t come as a huge surprise.

According to Axios, the low-cost mid-size Ford EV pickup will use lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) batteries that are being developed with licensed technology that will be built in the U.S., all with an effort to keep costs as low as possible., a revelation that came from Lisa Drake, Ford’s vice president of Technology Platform Programs and EV Systems, while she was speaking with investors last week.

Though Drake didn’t specify where these LFP batteries would be coming from, we do know that The Blue Oval is currently erecting what’s known as the BlueOval Battery Park Michigan site in Marshall, which will begin building those exact types of EV batteries starting in 2026. Ford will also be using technology licensed from China-based CATL to build those LFP batteries, so it’s feasible to make the assumption that this plant is exactly where the future pickup’s packs will come from. Trouble is, Executive Chairman Bill Ford recently admitted that the plant could be in trouble if Congress succeeds in killing off the federal tax credits that the company is using to build it.

As for where the new mid-size Ford EV pickup will be built itself, many believe it will be added to the line at the Louisville Assembly plant, which currently produces the Ford Escape and Lincoln Corsair – which are rumored to be in line for discontinuation following the 2026 model year. That plant is slated to undergo a major retooling later this year in preparation for the production of a new EV, in fact, which could be the new pickup.