Ford’s Answer to China: A Completely New Way of Making Cars

“We build a structural artillery retired of nan cells, and that is nan level of nan vehicle. So we really built nan seats connected it,” says Field. So, to beryllium clear, there's nary framework aliases building pinch a artillery connected apical of it to which nan seats are bolted—with Ford's caller exemplary nan artillery is nan structure. How does this disagree from existing cell-to-chassis aliases cell-to-pack technology? “This is cell-to-body,” says Field, adding that making this each activity was very, very hard.

“There's nary azygous magic breakthrough. It's conscionable really, really difficult engineering,” he says. "And there's a full bunch of problems to beryllium solved. Like, now you person this assemblage that has nary floor, really do you support it from bending arsenic it goes down nan line? How do you woody pinch nan overgarment erstwhile you've painted nan backmost half, but you haven't painted nan beforehand half, and past you're going to bolt them together astatine nan end?”

“We knew we wanted to build EVs differently, and we decided really we wanted to build them—then we sewage a huge group of engineering problems we had to spell lick to make that work.” The worst of these problems? “Joining nan beforehand end. Sealing, clang [strength], corrosion, dimensional accuracy—all of those things, doing those astatine nan extremity is … that beforehand extremity associated is decidedly nan astir difficult.”

Yes, overmuch of this is catching up pinch state-of-the-art worldly for EVs, specified arsenic zonal architecture wherever different functions are controlled successful different parts of nan car, which you tin already spot successful nan caller Tesla Model Y and galore China EVs. Similarly, ample aluminum castings are already being utilized by Tesla and Chinese makers.

However, if Ford has genuinely managed to build a car successful 3 chopped modules, which are completed afloat and only past bolted together, that is simply a genuine first. Yes, Tesla talked astir doing thing for illustration this back successful 2023 pinch its “unboxed” EV manufacturing process, but it hasn't done it yet. In different words, Ford whitethorn person beaten Tesla to nan punch here. The aged dinosaur has turned into rather nan velociraptor.

Almost arsenic awesome arsenic Ford's caller modular manufacturing is nan number of group and sheer velocity pinch which nan institution has achieved this undeniable win. “What's really absorbing is nan size of nan squad [the skunkworks had] compared to what if Ford had to do this,” says Farley. “If we forced [Ford] do it, it would person taken 5 times nan people.”

“When we agreed to commencement nan program, 3 years ago, we hired Alan Clarke. He went into a building, and it was 1 person. That's really nan task started,” says Field. Alan Clarke worked for Field astatine Tesla, wherever he helped create nan Model 3, worked connected the Y, nan Cybertruck, and more. “There's group successful China now who astir apt person passed him, but astatine nan clip he had architected much electrical vehicles than anybody successful nan world, truthful he was perfectly nan correct personification to tap. And he's besides a talent magnet. He's built nan squad really quickly—a world-class team. A batch of group who are ace excited to move from a Rivian aliases a Tesla and build thing for Ford.”

Farley thinks that Ford's caller measurement of making EVs is nan cleanable limb to return connected nan Chinese automakers, nan perfect illustration of precisely really nan West needs to compete. “You've sewage nan BYD model: 700,000 employees, 200,000 powertrain engineers. How do you hit them?" asks Farley.

“Turns out, Doug and Alan and nan squad built a propulsion strategy that was for illustration Apollo 13, managed down to nan watt truthful that our artillery could beryllium truthful overmuch smaller than BYD's. Their costs advantage connected vertical integration connected nan artillery is offset by invention successful nan powertrain. We can't hit them connected scale. We can't hit them connected vertical integration. But we tin hit them connected innovation.”