After launching its battery-powered F-150 Lightning pickup to less-than-stellar results, Ford decided to invest in creating an entirely new utility vehicle platform from a blank slate, targeting efficiency and cost savings. Here it is.
The platform shown in the video is called UEV, which stands for Universal Electric Vehicle. The company claims that a compact truck based on it would start from as little as $30,000.
To achieve this kind of economy, Ford bets big on simplifying designs and merging smaller parts into larger units. For example, we are told that a certain assembly used in the Ford Maverick comprises 146 parts; with the UEV platform, it would be a simple two-part unit. Even greater efficiency can be achieved by removing more than a kilometer (4,000 feet) of redundant wiring, all while keeping the EV compliant with the 400V power standard for faster charging.
Last but not least, Ford seems to have obsessively optimized its new chassis for drag performance. It studied the way the air moves around the wheels and concluded that redirecting the flow from the front towards the rear wheels helps extend driving range. Side mirror profiles lost 20% of their surface area thanks to optimizations, and even the undercarriage mounting hardware was redesigned to avoid drag.
The company boasts “massive” range gains from these measures, but without quoting any specific numbers. The UEV architecture will provide the basis for a whole family of electric vehicles slated for release, while older and less efficient designs, like the F-150 Lightning, won’t live to see another generation.
