Jim Farley, Ford CEO, Describes Why Auto Sector is Moving Towards a Massive Price Battle in the Forthcoming Years

According to the chief executive of Ford, Jim Farley, he anticipates the expense of manufacturing electric vehicles (EVs) will be falling to a point that in the upcoming years the automakers will be combating one another to sell EVs costing about USD 25,000.

Jim Farley, the CEO, stated at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference on Wednesday that the USD 25,000 price label will democratise EVs. He further said that the resources required to develop that vehicle will cost about USD 18,000, hence he believes that their industry is unquestionably moving towards a great price war. Farley added that like Tesla, Ford, may not need to buy marketing to trade EVs, which at the present amounts to USD 500 to USD 600 per vehicle.

As per Farley, China is already facing a price war, where more than 50 percent of the electric vehicles are sold today globally. He said that the most popular among these is a van produced by Wuling, a Chinese manufacturer that is priced at USD 8000.

Enormous cost-cutting is being done with new battery chemistries, that utilise lesser pricey and scarce valuable metals like nickel and cobalt, said Ford CEO. In addition, EVs will take a lesser amount of time and labour to create, saving more money, Farley added.

Farley acknowledged that reaching the lower cost point will be difficult, with several aspects to work on immediately. Latest EVs, he stated, also will be fabricated for optimal aerodynamics so they can utilise the tiniest battery possible to get more variety to choose from.

Remodelling the frame of a full-size electric cartridge truck for lesser wind endurance can add 75 miles (120 kilometers) of variety from the same size battery, notified Farley. He said that the supplementary selection reduces another USD 3,000 from the cost of the battery.

The reconstruction of the vehicle to decrease the size of the battery, as it is very expensive, will be revolutionary for the succeeding generation products, mentioned Farley.

Farley notified that at present, it costs much more to create an EV than it does one operated by a gas engine. Ford’s Mustang Mach-E electric SUV, which has a beginning price of about USD 44,000 however, can move much higher, costs around USD 25,000 more than an equivalent Ford Edge gas SUV, he stated. The battery individually costs USD 18,000, and the charger further adds an additional USD 3,000.

Ford’s latest all-electric vehicles present a competitive and exciting driving experience. The invigorated performance has already been experienced in the Mustang Mach-E, which takes not more than half a second to attain the highest point of speed. Furthermore, there are marginal slated maintenance costs, no emissions from the vehicle, presented tax incentives, and many other incentives that help in the smooth shift to electric energy.

Farley also corroborated on Wednesday that Ford is working on an electric vehicle produced specially for ride-hailing facilities like Uber, stating that the invention would suit well into Ford’s additional commercial contributions. He did not give any further information on this.