As one of a few brand new EV automakers to surface in recent years, Slate Auto debuted its all-new compact pickup this past April, ahead of its planned launch in 2027. However, what differentiates the new Slate truck (which can also be transformed into an SUV) from the rest of the pack is the fact that it’s intended to be a bare-bones and simplistic vehicle with few frills and a low price tag, albeit one that also offers customers an array of customization options. Turns out, one Ford executive isn’t a huge fan of that concept.
“And this will not be a stripped-down, old-school vehicle,” Doug Field, Ford’s chief EV, digital and design officer, said of the company’s future mid-size EV pickup during the debut of the company’s new universal EV platform – set to underpin that model. “Its ground-up, zonal electric architecture not only cuts that mile of wiring but will enable features digital experiences the industry has never seen before. We believe the primary battleground with competitors, especially from China, will be fought and won in the digital realm. It will also support Ford BlueCruise, the hands-free highway driving system that our customers are already finding transformative.”
Ford’s future “sleek and digital” EV pickup will ride on that aforementioned universal low-cost platform, and the automaker is targeting a $30k starting price tag for now. It’s expected to utilize a lithium iron-phosphate battery (LFP) that will reportedly offer up 51 kWh of usable energy, which is quite tiny when compared to most EVs on the market today. LFP batteries are less prone to fire risk, cheaper to produce, and able to be charged to 100 percent without degradation worries, though also less energy dense. However, it may also be offered with nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) batteries as well, and will reportedly be able to power houses “for days.”
Otherwise, we know that this future Ford EV pickup will be offered exclusively in four-door guise (unlike the two-door-only Slate), while owners will be able lock their gear in the bed without the need for a roof rack or trailer hitch racks. It’s expected to be closer in size to the Ford Maverick than the Ford Ranger, and the new model will reportedly be as quick as a Mustang EcoBoost, with more room inside than a Toyota RAV4. It will be produced at the Louisville Assembly plant with a launch date of 2027 and a potential max annual capacity of 190,000 units. The new EV pickup could also wear the Ranchero name, based on a recent trademark filing in the U.S.
Comments
Take a look at BS picture of lady buffing !!! The left ARM has been doin— One arm Pushups !!! A poor fake picture , give that job to AI. With action !
It’s a long-haired dude.
Dude looks like a Lady ———–
👍🏻
They/Them ?
Golf carts are getting more sophisticated. Congrats DF. Now get a real dedicated speedo and fuel gage and gages back into the F150
I don’t want a computer on wheels. Give us the option of a basic little truck.
Ranchero would be perfect. Ranchero Ute would be excellent
Less wires MORE RECALLS!!!!
I don’t think Amazon will do a market adjustment of $10,000.00 or more.
A low cost work truck is all a lot of people want and need!
Not all the tech crap! With the added $10 to $15 THOUSAND for what they don’t need or want!
Remember the V8, 4WD, 2 door, crank windows, F150, with a 8′ bed?!?
If you were lucky it had A/C!!!
A true work truck that you could afford and it would last 8 to 10 years.
With little to no problems or RECALLS!!!!
Oh that’s right they are not meant for workers anymore, they are meant for soccer mom’s, or men from the office that want to pick up some mulch on the week end.
More wires, more problems. Your not going to outdo the chinese in electronics when they continuously steal the best tech from around the world and employ slave labor.
Doug seems really out of touch. We want a bare bones old school truck, that’s the point. They just wont sell it to us because it’ll last too long and that’ll stop them from being able to sell $100k+ trucks to us every year.
Not really interested in a EV. Wouldn’t work to well where I live. That said, I’m tired of not being able to buy a stripped down truck without all the BS in it. Build us a stripped down F150 or Ranger with analog gauges, vinyl (or cloth seats), basic radio and no huge screens. Same with the Mustang, give us a LX with the 5.0l, with analog gauges, cloth seats, no fancy tunable exhaust and cut the price by a considerable amount.
Detroit doesn’t listen. (Speaking as someone who grew up in a Ford home and watched Detroit self-destruct from that age of eight until I moved to New York after college…)
Simple, not simplistic, but the Slate will fill a niche Ford doesn’t cover.