Ford's affordable Fathom electric pickup may not start production as scheduled. The company previously said the first prototypes would come off the line in the first quarter of 2027, but CEO Jim Farley now says the launch is not assured. He told attendees at an industry event that meeting the targets for scale, cost, and timing would be very difficult, and that the company has not yet achieved mass production readiness for its new vehicle platform.
The Fathom is central to Ford's strategy against Chinese automakers. The company found that a comparable BYD electric vehicle would have a cost advantage of about 20% on the battery, so Ford redesigned the electric drive components to use a smaller battery pack. Ford is investing $5 billion in the Louisville Assembly Plant and a Michigan battery park to support production.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, Ford hopes to sell 100,000 Fathoms in the first year, though that target looks challenging given the production uncertainty. The pickup, expected to start at $28,350, is slated to offer more interior space than a Toyota RAV4, along with features such as Apple Maps integration, wireless smartphone connectivity, BlueCruise, bidirectional charging, and a NACS port.