Ford’s planning a ‘Model T moment’ for EVs on August 11th

Ford is preparing a major electric vehicle announcement that CEO Jim Farley calls a “Model T moment,” as reported earlier by InsideEVs. During an earnings call on Wednesday, Farley said the company will reveal plans to design and build a “breakthrough” EV, along with a new platform, at an August 11th event in Kentucky.

Even as Ford’s EV business took a $1.3 billion hit, the automaker’s “skunkworks” team, helmed by former Tesla engineer Alan Clarke, has been working in the background to develop a more affordable electric car. “This is a Model T moment for us at Ford, a chance to bring a new family of vehicles to the world that offer incredible technology, efficiency, space, and features,” Farley said.

Ford said last year that the new low-cost EV platform will underpin a pickup truck slated for release in 2027 and will also extend to other vehicles in the future. The automaker’s upcoming event comes at a pivotal moment for an industry that once felt like the future of cars. This month, Tesla revealed its largest revenue drop in years. The EV-maker also announced a slew of deals in an attempt to reverse slumping sales, and even revealed plans to launch a stripped-down Model Y.

President Donald Trump’s recent actions haven’t helped the EV industry, either, as the administration plans to roll back EV tax credits this September. Trump’s tariffs have also hit automakers hard, with Ford saying it expects the duties to shave $2 billion off its annual earnings.

Farley says Ford is working to compete with the low-cost EVs made by Chinese automakers, like Geely and BYD. “We believe the only way to really compete effectively with the Chinese over the globe on EVs is to go and really push ourselves to radically reengineer and transform our engineering supply chain and manufacturing process,” Farley said. “That will come to life soon.”