The Detroit Dinosaur Stirs
Ford has pledged a rather chunky £1.6 billion towards building an electric pickup truck for around £24,000. Let that sink in. A proper, working vehicle from a household name, priced to compete not with other EVs, but with the petrol-guzzling trucks that are the lifeblood of middle America. To me, this is far more significant than another six-figure electric supercar. This is a statement of intent. It’s Ford, a company that practically invented mass-market motoring, signalling that the game is about to change.
Of course, a press release is one thing, and a production line churning out affordable, reliable EVs is quite another. The road is littered with ambitious automotive projects that went nowhere. But when a giant with Ford’s manufacturing clout and brand recognition puts this kind of money on the table, you have to sit up and pay attention. They seem to have realised that ceding the entire affordable market to foreign competitors might not be a terribly clever long-term strategy. Who knew?