How do you design a $30,000 electric pickup? Inside Ford's skunkworks.

Ford's Long Beach skunkworks operation houses an engineering team developing a new electric vehicle lineup that breaks with convention . The 350-member team has engineered Ford's Universal Electric Vehicle (UEV) platform with the rallying cry "the best part is no part," aiming to create a lighter, sleeker, and more efficient pickup truck starting at $30,000 . The design uses an "assembly tree" approach with large aluminum castings and a battery pack that come together at final assembly, achieving a 20% reduction in parts, 25% fewer fasteners, and 15% faster assembly compared to the Mustang Mach-E .

Source: Ars Technica | 2026-05-05