FORD BETS ON UNIVERSAL EV PLATFORM TO CRACK AFFORDABILITY

The dedicated lab houses Ford's UEV platform development, bringing together teams focused on making electric vehicles more affordable for mass-market consumers. This centralized approach aims to capitalize on Ford's deep experience in vehicle manufacturing and production efficiency. The move comes as Ford navigates mixed signals about its EV strategy. The company showed off the UEV Project last February but subsequently halted production of the F-150 Lightning, one of its higher-profile electric vehicles. By concentrating resources on platform development under one facility, Ford appears intent on streamlining costs and accelerating the timeline to affordable EV production. The skunkworks model allows the team to operate with reduced bureaucracy while maintaining access to the company's manufacturing knowledge and infrastructure. The initiative reflects growing pressure across the auto industry to deliver competitively priced EVs as competitors ramp up affordable electric offerings.