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A new electric-car platform and radical factory overhaul will help Ford launch a new dual-cab electric ute for the same price as a petrol Ranger in the US – and it could come to Australia.
Ford has detailed plans to launch a new Ranger-sized electric dual-cab pick-up in the US in 2027 – priced from $US30,000 ($AU46,000) – as part of a new line-up of more affordable electric cars bound for global markets.
It will debut a radical new electric-car platform intended to reduce parts complexity, production time, and cost, which will go on to underpin vehicles of different body types and sizes.
They will be built in an overhauled factory in Louisville, Kentucky, configured to use a new, grouped production method inspired by Tesla, claimed to increase assembly speed by 15 per cent.
Australian plans are yet to be confirmed, a Ford Australia spokesperson telling Drive "it’s too early to share specifics on export markets today," but Ford has confirmed the new ute will be sold in the "US and export markets".
The new electric ute is promised to be "as fast as a Mustang EcoBoost" and offer "more passenger volume than a 2025 Toyota RAV4" – excluding the tray and under-bonnet storage – with four doors and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries.
Prices are targeted to start from $US30,000 ($AU46,000) – cheaper than a base-model Ranger in the US ($US33,350, or $AU51,000) – with a "lower cost of ownership over five years than a three-year-old used Tesla Model Y," Ford says.
It is thanks to a new 'Universal EV Platform', which Ford says reduces the number of parts by 20 per cent "versus a typical vehicle", with 25 per cent fewer fasteners, a 15 per cent faster build time, and 40 per cent fewer "workstations dock-to-dock in the plant".
It highlights the wiring in the vehicle as 1.3km shorter and 10kg lighter than that in its "first-gen electric SUV," the Mustang Mach-E.
Given plans to use the platform for a broad range of vehicles, it is likely the new ute will use car-like 'monocoque' construction akin to the petrol Ford Maverick, rather than a Ranger-like heavy-duty ladder frame.
Reports have speculated it could revive the Ranchero name used by a car-derived, low-slung ute sold by Ford USA in the 1960s and 1970s, similar to Australia's Holden and Ford utes, as well as the US Chevrolet El Camino.
Ford promises the new ute will be "fun to drive", with a 0-60mph (97km/h) acceleration time in line with a four-cylinder turbo Mustang – which is capable of a circa-5.0-second sprint – yet with "more downforce".
Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries – as fitted to BYD and entry-level Tesla vehicles – will be used, Ford says, in a 'cell-to-body' format where the battery is a structural component of the car that serves as its floor.
The batteries will be built in the US, rather than in China as with most LFP batteries in new vehicles – which is critical to avoid US President Donald Trump's tariffs.
Ford says buyers will be able to lock surfboards and other items in the tub, suggesting a standard tonneau cover. No details of driving range, motor output, charging times, or dimensions have been confirmed.
The ute – and models following it – are being developed by a 'skunkworks' team set up by Ford in California, rather than at its usual facilities in the state of Michigan.
Contributing to the new ute's sharp price is an overhauled manufacturing method intended to reduce production time and cost
Rather than building the vehicle up step by step along a single manufacturing line, it is produced in three "sub-assemblies" along independent lines, before merging to complete the vehicle.
The front and rear sections of the vehicle are completed separately – thanks to single-piece aluminum unicastings, rather than smaller parts welded together – plus the seats, carpeting and interior consoles as another unit.
It is a similar process to Tesla's "unboxed" production process that will build its upcoming Cybercab autonomous car, which also sees the vehicle assembled in separate sections before merging into one.
Ford says parts travel along the assembly line to workers "in a kit", with "all fasteners, scanners and power tools required for the job ... in the correct orientation for use."
The US car giant has promised a 40 per cent faster build time than the vehicles currently built at its Louisville factory, though it says changes to "insourcing and automation to improve quality and cost" will reduce the time savings to 15 per cent.
"Vehicles assembled on this platform will be affordable for the average family — but also highly efficient, customizable, and fun to drive. And they won’t be stripped down to the bare essentials," Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a media statement.
"Instead, these vehicles will be packed with innovative features and new software experiences that set them apart — and make people want to drive them.
"Better yet, they’ll improve over time with over-the-air updates that continue to add new capabilities where available."
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
