Latest news with #R532
TimesLIVE
4 days ago
- Automotive
- TimesLIVE
Ford reveals $30k starting price for new budget-friendly EV range
Ford plans to start rolling out its new family of affordable electric vehicles in 2027, including a midsize pickup truck with a target starting price of $30,000 (R532,446), the company said on Monday as it aspires to the cost efficiency of Chinese rivals. The new midsize four-door pickup will be assembled at the carmaker's Louisville, Kentucky, plant. Ford is investing nearly $2bn (R35,494,760,000) in the plant, which produces the Escape and Lincoln Corsair, retaining at least 2,200 jobs, it said. Chinese carmakers such as BYD have streamlined their supply chain and production system to produce EVs at a fraction of the cost of Western carmakers. While the vehicles have yet to enter the US market, Ford CEO Jim Farley said they set a new standard that companies such as Ford must match. "I can't tell you with 100% certainty this will all go right," Farley told a crowd at Ford's Louisville assembly plant on Monday, noting past efforts by US carmakers to build affordable cars had fizzled. "It is a bet. There is risk." Ford has been developing its affordable EVs through its skunkworks team filled with talent from EV rivals Tesla and Rivian. The California-based group, led by former Tesla executive Alan Clarke, has set itself so much apart from the larger Ford enterprise that Farley said even his badge could not get him into its building for some time. EVs sold for an average of about $47,000 (R834,545) in June, JD Power data showed. Many Chinese models sell for $10,000 (R177,562) to $25,000 (R443,907). Affordability is a top concern for EV shoppers, auto executives have said, and the global competition for delivering cheaper electric models is heating up.
TimesLIVE
10-06-2025
- Automotive
- TimesLIVE
Why China's car and tech giants threaten Tesla's self-driving future
'God's Eye' on the cheap Chinese EV makers are moving quickly to develop driver-assistance systems in a market where car buyers are demanding them at a faster pace than in other regions, analysts said. Their ability to do so at lower costs poses the biggest threat to Tesla's new autonomy-based business model. BYD buyers can get an FSD-comparable version of God's Eye as a standard feature in cars priced at about $30,000 (R532,220). The cheapest FSD-equipped Tesla in China is a Model 3 selling for about $41,500 (R736,210). According to an analysis by A2MAC1, a Paris-based tear-down firm that benchmarks components, the mid-level God's Eye version most comparable to Tesla's FSD runs on an Nvidia computing chip with data collected through 12 cameras, five radars, 12 ultrasonic sensors, and one lidar sensor, at a cost of $2,105 (R37,342). That compares to $2,360 (R41,863) for Tesla's FSD, which uses cameras without sensors and two AI chips, the firm estimated. Cameras, radar and ultrasonic sensors are 40% cheaper in China than comparable devices in Europe and the US, A2MAC1 estimated. Lidar sensors cost about 20% less, the firm said. Sensor costs have fallen because China's EV boom created economies of scale, said A2MAC1 engineer Elena Zhelondz. The fierce competition also pushed carmakers and suppliers to accept lower profits on driver-assistance equipment, she said. BYD's 22% gross margin will likely fall as it gives away God's Eye but it will benefit from a vehicle sales boost, said Chris McNally, head of global automotive and mobility research for advisory firm Evercore.
