Overview
- Ford opened the Electric Vehicle Development Center in Long Beach as a single site for design, prototyping, testing, and manufacturing research for its next wave of electric vehicles.
- Engineers are building a flexible Universal Electric Vehicle Platform that targets 20% fewer parts, 40% fewer assembly workstations, and up to 30% lower complexity to cut cost and time.
- The platform uses prismatic lithium iron phosphate batteries and a 48-volt electrical system that lets the pack top serve as the cabin floor and removes more than 4,000 feet of copper wiring.
- Development at the center leans on large structural castings, in-house fabrication, climatic labs, a four-wheel dyno, and on-site EPA testing to speed validation and reduce the need for costly factory overhauls.
- The first vehicle from this effort is expected to be a compact electric pickup, with reporting indicating it will serve as an early test of the platform’s speed and cost goals.