Ford Motor has overhauled its approach to electric vehicle development, creating an independent “skunkworks” team tasked with cutting costs and simplifying vehicle design as part of a broader push to strengthen competitiveness and improve quality.
The move is part of a wider transformation under Chief Executive Jim Farley, who said the automaker needed to rethink how it develops vehicles and attract new talent to challenge both internal inefficiencies and growing competition from China. “The evolution revolution of our thinking was to develop a vehicle for manufacturability, to radically reduce the cost and the complexity of the vehicle with all new thinking that is not embedded in a traditional car company,” Farley said during an appearance on The Verge’s Decoder podcast.
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To achieve this, Ford established an advanced EV “skunkworks” unit several years ago, bringing in new expertise including former Apple and Tesla executive Doug Field. The team operates separately from Ford’s main engineering and IT departments and focuses on developing a low-cost electric vehicle platform that will underpin multiple future models.
According to Farley, the initiative is designed to “get back to the basics of Ford and Henry Ford’s idea of a ‘universal car,’” with a focus on manufacturability, simplicity, and affordability. The approach has already yielded results, with the team finding more cost-efficient ways to design and produce vehicles than in previous EV programs.
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The reorganization reflects Ford’s broader effort to address quality concerns, streamline operations, and accelerate its shift toward electrification. Farley has said the company is “betting everything” on the new team as it seeks to regain momentum in an increasingly competitive global EV market.