Latest news with #UniversalEVPlatform
IOL News
3 days ago
- Automotive
- IOL News
Model T of the electric era? Ford announces affordable EV family with 'revolutionary' assembly process
Big, heavy and expensive electric vehicles (EVs) have limited profit potential for Ford, its global CEO Jim Farley has previously stated. For that reason, the company is now shifting its focus towards smaller and more affordable EVs that better align with customer needs and cost structures. This new strategy will be underpinned by Ford's brand-new 'Universal EV Platform', designed to enable a family of affordable EVs that can be produced at scale. Instrumental in this plan is what it calls a more efficient assembly process. 'More than a century after the invention of the moving assembly line, Ford combines its industrial know-how with a start-up mentality to create the new Ford Universal EV Production System, radically simplifying vehicle assembly for safety, quality and speed,' Ford said at an event held at its Louisville plant in Kentucky on Tuesday. To achieve this, Ford transformed the traditional assembly line, which is essentially one long conveyor, into three sub-assemblies which run down their own lines simultaneously before joining together near the end. Large single-piece aluminium unicasings replace dozens of smaller parts, allowing the front and rear of the vehicle to be assembled separately. The battery forms the basis of the third sub-assembly, to which the seats, consoles and carpeting are assembled. Parts are moved down the assembly tree in a kit, which includes all the fasteners, scanners and power tools required by the operator, and in the correct orientation for use. Ford says the new platform reduces parts by 20%, with 25% fewer fasteners and 40% fewer workstations. Assembly time is also said to improve by 15%. See how it works in the video below:
The Irish Sun
3 days ago
- Automotive
- The Irish Sun
Legendary carmaker is launching new range of cheapest ever EVs boasting enough energy to ‘power a house for 6 DAYS'
PLUGGED IN Legendary carmaker is launching new range of cheapest ever EVs boasting enough energy to 'power a house for 6 DAYS' A LEGENDARY carmaker is launching a new range of its cheapest ever EVs. The cars are being created using a "revolutionary" process following a three-year project. 1 Ford's new EVs will be built at the company's Louisville plant in the US but are expected to be offered globally This scheme allows the cars to boast enough energy to "power a house for six days", according to the boss of the company. Ford is releasing the Universal EV Platform for a mid-size, double-cab pick-up truck that will be on sale in 2027, priced at $30,000 (£22,000). While the new EVs will be built at Ford's Louisville plant in the US, the vehicles are expected to be offered globally. It comes after the recent signing of trade deals between the US and the UK. The UK Government has also revealed a £650 million grant could knock up to £3,750 off the price of low-priced EVs. Ford CEO Jim Farley said more models using the process will follow, as first reported by Autocar. These will reportedly include a hatchback, crossover, van and a three-bench SUV. These are likely to start at around the same price. The new range is also being used to boost sales in the US market, and is likely to be seen as an endorsement of Donald Trump's policy to focus on domestic manufacturing to boost the US economy. Iconic British car brand to begin 'new era' with 'urban SUV' to be launched next year Farley said the process uses battery cells made at Ford's new Blue Oval Battery Park in Michigan. He said there were "no guarantees" with the project, and added: 'It is a bet. There is risk. I cannot 100% say this will work. There is an automotive graveyard full of projects that have not worked.' In his statement, Farley highlighted the fact that Ford will create its new EVs in the US. He said competitors "build their vehicles in Asia and import them from abroad. This is not what we are doing. We took on the challenge that others have stopped doing. 'This project is bigger than Ford motor cars. It is about our country."
Scottish Sun
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Scottish Sun
Legendary carmaker is launching new range of cheapest ever EVs boasting enough energy to ‘power a house for 6 DAYS'
PLUGGED IN Legendary carmaker is launching new range of cheapest ever EVs boasting enough energy to 'power a house for 6 DAYS' Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A LEGENDARY carmaker is launching a new range of its cheapest ever EVs. The cars are being created using a "revolutionary" process following a three-year project. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 Ford's new EVs will be built at the company's Louisville plant in the US but are expected to be offered globally This scheme allows the cars to boast enough energy to "power a house for six days", according to the boss of the company. Ford is releasing the Universal EV Platform for a mid-size, double-cab pick-up truck that will be on sale in 2027, priced at $30,000 (£22,000). While the new EVs will be built at Ford's Louisville plant in the US, the vehicles are expected to be offered globally. It comes after the recent signing of trade deals between the US and the UK. The UK Government has also revealed a £650 million grant could knock up to £3,750 off the price of low-priced EVs. Ford CEO Jim Farley said more models using the process will follow, as first reported by Autocar. These will reportedly include a hatchback, crossover, van and a three-bench SUV. These are likely to start at around the same price. The new range is also being used to boost sales in the US market, and is likely to be seen as an endorsement of Donald Trump's policy to focus on domestic manufacturing to boost the US economy. Iconic British car brand to begin 'new era' with 'urban SUV' to be launched next year Farley said the process uses battery cells made at Ford's new Blue Oval Battery Park in Michigan. He said there were "no guarantees" with the project, and added: 'It is a bet. There is risk. I cannot 100% say this will work. There is an automotive graveyard full of projects that have not worked.' In his statement, Farley highlighted the fact that Ford will create its new EVs in the US. He said competitors "build their vehicles in Asia and import them from abroad. This is not what we are doing. We took on the challenge that others have stopped doing. 'This project is bigger than Ford motor cars. It is about our country."
The Sun
3 days ago
- Automotive
- The Sun
Legendary carmaker is launching new range of cheapest ever EVs boasting enough energy to ‘power a house for 6 DAYS'
PLUGGED IN Legendary carmaker is launching new range of cheapest ever EVs boasting enough energy to 'power a house for 6 DAYS' A LEGENDARY carmaker is launching a new range of its cheapest ever EVs. The cars are being created using a "revolutionary" process following a three-year project. 1 Ford's new EVs will be built at the company's Louisville plant in the US but are expected to be offered globally This scheme allows the cars to boast enough energy to "power a house for six days", according to the boss of the company. Ford is releasing the Universal EV Platform for a mid-size, double-cab pick-up truck that will be on sale in 2027, priced at $30,000 (£22,000). While the new EVs will be built at Ford's Louisville plant in the US, the vehicles are expected to be offered globally. It comes after the recent signing of trade deals between the US and the UK. The UK Government has also revealed a £650 million grant could knock up to £3,750 off the price of low-priced EVs. Ford CEO Jim Farley said more models using the process will follow, as first reported by Autocar. These will reportedly include a hatchback, crossover, van and a three-bench SUV. These are likely to start at around the same price. The new range is also being used to boost sales in the US market, and is likely to be seen as an endorsement of Donald Trump's policy to focus on domestic manufacturing to boost the US economy. Iconic British car brand to begin 'new era' with 'urban SUV' to be launched next year Farley said the process uses battery cells made at Ford's new Blue Oval Battery Park in Michigan. He said there were "no guarantees" with the project, and added: 'It is a bet. There is risk. I cannot 100% say this will work. There is an automotive graveyard full of projects that have not worked.' In his statement, Farley highlighted the fact that Ford will create its new EVs in the US. He said competitors "build their vehicles in Asia and import them from abroad. This is not what we are doing. We took on the challenge that others have stopped doing. 'This project is bigger than Ford motor cars. It is about our country."
Engadget
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Engadget
The Morning After: The best Switch 2 games (so far)
A couple of months since the Switch 2 launched, we've all got to grips with the new magnetic-latching Joy-Cons, the jump in graphic fidelity and (honestly) the wait for a next-gen Zelda or Mario title. With the arrival of Donkey Kong Bananza , the new console has its first entirely new breakout platformer hit, we asked the Engadget team for the must-have games on the Switch 2. With a leap in processing power, the Switch 2 can now handle ostensibly huge games like Hitman and Cyberpunk 2077 . In fact, the latter's release on Nintendo's console nudged me into finally playing the game. I last played it on Google's Stadia cloud gaming service (RIP), and gave up at the tutorial. Already, I'm having a more successful playthrough. I can even share my save between Switch 2 and PS5 — because I'm that lunatic who owns the game on both. I'm also playing my way through the Switch 2 edition of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom , which now runs incredibly smoothly. This time, perhaps, I'll finish it. Read on for the full list — we'll be updating it as more games arrive. — Mat Smith Get Engadget's newsletter delivered direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here! The news you might have missed Ford is developing a $30,000 mid-sized EV pickup It's part of the company's new Universal EV Platform. Ford has announced a new family of products will share its new Universal EV Platform will be shared by a new family of products, and the first of those will be a mid-sized pickup with a starting price of around $30,000. It could be similar in configuration to the Ford 2022 Maverick . A unified EV platform is a pretty dry announcement, but Ford's only two EVs are the F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E, both of which use one-off platforms. With the Universal EV Platform, Ford will be able to build multiple vehicles, including vans, cars and pickups, which should be easier to build and, crucially, cheaper. Continue reading. AOL's dial-up internet still exists (for one more month) Might be time to upgrade. Did you know AOL is part of the company that owns Engadget?. Yeah, it's… intriguing. AOL, a company that brought the internet to millions (including my family), says it will discontinue its dial-up service on September 30, marking the end of an era. First spotted by PC Gamer , the surprising AOL announcement was in a post buried oin its AOL Help page. Continue reading. Paramount knocks out PPV UFC fights for $7.7 billion Now it'll stream them. Paramount just acquired the US rights to UFC for seven years in a deal worth $7.7 billion. The deal covers the organization's full slate of 13 marquee bouts and 30 Fight Night events, starting in 2026. Notably, this means the end of the pay-per-view (PPV) model ESPN+ has favored for premium UFC events. If you think that's a crazy amount of money, how about this: Skydance Media officially acquired all of Paramount and its subsidiaries for $8 billion. Continue reading. DJI puts its drones' obstacle detection tech into robot vacuums Its ROMO cleaners are launching in China first. DJI entered the smart home world with a range of robot vacuums called ROMO. After drones, gimbals and action cameras, it had to be vacuum cleaners, right? The same system that helps DJI drones avoid crashes when recording video apparently translates into a robot vacuum that can navigate a home without running into furniture. DJI is offering the ROMO in three models: the entry-level ROMO S, which starts at around $650;, the mid-range ROMO A, with a transparent vacuum design that goes for around $750,; and the top-of-the-line ROMO P, which has both a transparent vacuum and a base station for at least $950. Continue reading.
