FORD

Project T3: second-generation brand fully electrified electric pick-up coming to market in 2025

Ford has announced the launch of an all-new electric pick-up truck in 2025, second generation, still known only as Project T3. It will be produced at the BlueOval City vehicle and battery megafactory, under construction in Tennessee, USA, with capacity for 500,000 units/year - see the video below. Ford and partner SK On are investing $5.6 billion in the project, which is seen as the beginning of a new era in the industry.

“The BlueOval City is a blueprint for Ford's electric future around the world,” said Bill Ford, chairman of the board of Ford. "We will produce revolutionary electric vehicles in a state-of-the-art plant that works in harmony with the planet, combining business growth and innovation with environmental progress."

BlueOval City is designed to be Ford's first carbon-neutral vehicle and battery production complex. The company's goal is to have all its factories in the world supplied with renewable and carbon-free electricity by 2035.

“Project T3 is a unique opportunity to revolutionize pickup trucks in America. We're bringing together Ford's 100-year pick-up experience with the best in electric vehicles, software and aerodynamics. It's a limitless platform in terms of capability and innovation,” says Jim Farley, Ford president and CEO.

“Its manufacturing process will be equally innovative, with radical simplicity, cost efficiency and technologies that will make BlueOval City the modern equivalent of Henry Ford's Factory Rouge. A factory of the future that people from all over the world will want to visit”.

BlueOval City is part of Ford's plan to increase electric vehicle production to 2 million units/year worldwide by the end of 2026 and make them more affordable for customers.

New era in the industry...With the F-150 Lightning, Ford has changed people's expectations of the capability, driving pleasure and productivity of electric pick-ups. Project T3 aims to reinvent and further expand the brand's pick-up franchise.

Ford is developing its second generation electric pick-up along with the new factory, which brings an unprecedented standard of efficiency - with an assembly area 30% smaller than traditional plants and greater production capacity.

At the same time, the brand managed to reduce the complexity of the work of the T3 Project teams, compared to previous programs, to deliver the performance and innovation that customers expect from their pick-ups.

Project T3 is an abbreviation of 'Trust The Truck' ('Trust the Pick-up') - the development team's rallying cry that ended up being adopted as a name. The team's driveline was to create a pick-up that people could trust in the digital age - fully upgradeable, constantly improving and capable of towing, transporting and powering, with endless innovations desired by customers.

The factory will be supplied with carbon-free electricity from the outset. For the first time in 120 years, Ford will also use reclaimed energy from the facility and geothermal system to heat the factory carbon-free - saving an estimated 8.5 million cubic meters of natural gas a year.

The complex's new utilities system will save around 190 million liters of water per year by reducing evaporation from the cooling towers. In addition to generating zero waste for landfills, it will not use potable water in its processes and there will be a rainwater collection system.

The 3,600-acre complex includes a fully integrated BlueOval SK battery factory. It will produce cells and batteries that will be delivered directly to the assembly line in less than 30 minutes.

BlueOval City will also have a park of suppliers and a modification center capable of installing widely used accessories on Ford pick-ups - such as a spray-in type bucket coating applied by robots and toolboxes - before delivery to dealers and customers.

Autonews