Ford Announces Plans to Produce Second Generation Electric Truck by 2025
Ford CEO Jim Farley announced the company's plan to release a second-generation electric truck that will be produced in 2025. This second generation electric truck will be a development of the F-150 Lightning, the first electric truck released by Ford.
In a press conference held today, Jim Farley mentioned that the second-generation electric truck will be "like the Millennium Falcon", although it is not very clear what this statement means.
Ford plans to improve the driver range and towing capabilities of this second-generation electric truck, also known as Project T3 (Trust the Truck). In addition, this second-generation electric truck will be "fully updatable" and "always upgradable" through a new electric platform and OTA (Over-The-Air) update capabilities.
Ford's Billion Dollar Investment in Electric F-Series Trucks
Ford's second-generation electric trucks will be produced at the Blue Oval City plant, a $5.6 billion campus located outside Memphis, Tennessee.
The 3600-acre campus also includes a battery plant as part of a partnership with energy company SK Innovation. The investment is expected to improve the production process of electric trucks to make them simpler, more efficient and affordable, and enable Ford to produce up to 500,000 electric trucks per year at peak production.
Ford's announcement of the development of the second-generation F-150 Lightning comes after the company predicted a $3 billion loss on electric vehicle sales by 2023.
This drop in profits is partly due to the massive investments made by the company in its facilities in Kentucky and Tennessee, as well as spending on alternative battery chemistries.
However, Ford recognizes that this is part of the expansion process of its electric vehicle division, and will continue to ramp up production of the Lightning and Mustang Mach-E.
Earlier this month, Ford said it expects to produce 150,000 units of the Lightning per year by the end of this year. The production amount will triple from the previous production.
In addition, the Mustang Mach-E will also be produced in greater numbers, with the company announcing a nearly 67 percent increase in production, from 78,000 units last year to 130,000 by 2023.