Key Points Ford's $5 billion "bet" on its next generation of all-electric vehicles will feature a budding technology that Tesla commercialized in the U.S. with its Cybertruck. Ford said the system, known as 48-volt electrical architecture, will help it lower the cost of EVs, making them more comparable to gas-powered vehicles. Ford will start its next generation of EVs with a $30,000 small electric pickup truck in 2027. In this article Why the largest U.S. auto dealer isn't interested in Chinese cars — for now Farley has called it a "Model T moment" for the company, referring to the company's flagship vehicle that came out more than a century ago and led to the mass adoption of vehicles during the early 1900s. He's also called it a "bet" for Ford given the amount of changes it will make to the EVs as well as the company and its processes. Ford expects the new EVs, which will be based on a common "Universal Electric Vehicle," or UEV, to have comparable costs to gas-powered vehicles through new technologies and efficiencies. Currently, the massive batteries that power EVs have made them far more expensive to produce and have been infamously unprofitable. The Detroit automaker has said the new EVs will reduce parts by 20% versus a typical vehicle, with 25% fewer fasteners, 40% fewer workstations dock-to-dock in the plant and 15% faster assembly time. "It represents the most radical change on how we design and how we build vehicles at Ford since the Model T," Farley said at the plant. "Now is time to change the game once again." Ford CEO Jim Farley speaks at the Louisville Assembly Plant as the company shares its plans to design and assemble breakthrough electric vehicles in the United States, Aug. 11, 2025. Courtesy: Ford Ford said those improvements, as well as price points that are more similar to gas-powered models, will lead to greater adoption of EVs. That's despite a significant slowdown in U.S. EV sales amid changes to federal support by the Trump administration as well as less-than-expected consumer adoption. U.S. EV sales peaked in September, ahead of the federal incentives ending, at 10.3% of the new vehicle market, according to Cox Automotive. That demand plummeted to preliminary estimates of 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Those market conditions recently led Ford to announce $19.5 billion in write-downs, largely related to a pullback in EV plans, but the company said it will continue to invest $5 billion for its new UEV platform through 2027. "Our focus has been on giving them everything they would get in a nice vehicle and more, and we think that that will allow us to ultimately not just make an affordable vehicle, but make one that's extremely desirable," Alan Clarke, Ford's executive director of advanced EV development, said during a media briefing. 48-volt system The 48-volt system provides significant benefits to other parts of the vehicle aside from just the battery and is expected to continue to do so as the bandwidth of 12-volt batteries gets maxed out, according Clarke, a former Tesla executive. "It's less expensive, has smaller wires and is the future of automotive," he said. "So, if you want to future-protect this platform to exist for more than a decade … it's very clear that 48 made the most sense." Alan Clarke, Ford’s executive director of advanced EV development, during a video presentation on Ford's Universal Electric Vehicle platform. Courtesy Ford Ford said the wiring harness in the new midsize truck will be more than 4,000 feet shorter and 22 pounds lighter than the wiring harness used in Ford's first-generation electric SUV.