Last summer, Ford Motor Company announced the development of an electric pickup truck with a starting price of around $30,000, set to go on sale in 2027. The project emphasizes a new manufacturing process, innovative design, and increased efficiency. Ford’s development teams are focused on achieving “bounty targets,” which are metrics aimed at converting efficiency improvements into battery savings and estimated range.
To enhance efficiency, Ford has made several design adjustments. For instance, a 1.0-millimeter increase in the truck’s roof height would add $1.30 to the battery cost and reduce the range by 0.055 miles. Instead, the roofline is designed to direct high-speed air into a teardrop shape over the bed, improving airflow. Additionally, shallower bolt holes underneath the truck allow air to move more efficiently, and the design directs the front tire wake onto the rear ones, adding 4.5 miles of range by reducing drag.
Further improvements include mounting the drive unit as low as possible to reduce turbulent wake and friction in the joints. Ford also reduced the mirror size by 20 percent by integrating the glass adjustment and folding mirror actuator into a single unit, adding 1.5 miles of range. These numerous small enhancements have resulted in a truck with aerodynamic efficiency more than 15 percent higher than any other pickup currently on the market.
