Ford CEO Jim Farley seems really concerned about the BYD Seagull. And he should be. This small electric SUV is around $11k and gets 250 miles of electric range. So, it’s no coincidence that Farley talked about going “small” with Ford Motor Co.’s next-gen EV platform at the Wolfe Research Global Auto and Auto Tech Conference on Feb. 15. The question, however, is: Does this mean there will be a small Ford electric truck on sale soon?
[Read more: What is the BYD Seagull? Why do we care?]
If you follow the rumor mill, the answer is yes. And we’ll see it by 2026.
But after reading the transcript from the conference, I’m less clear about the timing and less sure about the meaning of “small.”
Why does the BYD Seagull matter?
Well, if $11k and 250 miles of range didn’t catch your attention, the fact that BYD is looking to start building in Mexico should. Farley recognizes that the Chinese automaker is a threat, and he has to figure out a way to compete. Fast.
Dipping into that transcript, which doesn’t quite capture all the words correctly but gets enough right to deliver the gist, Farley says: “Well, I watch Europe fast quickly. [stet] I was there to help build Toyota Europe from nothing and then I ran Ford of Europe, and the Chinese are 10% of the EV market in Europe. And they were zero two years ago. So, don’t take anything for granted. This CEO doesn’t.”
The gist: Chinese automakers are growing quickly in Europe, and America could be next. Even if political leaders impose 100% taxes on Chinese-made vehicles, at $22k the BYD Seagull would still be cheaper than anything we are currently producing in the U.S.
The meaning of small
We’ve speculated previously about the idea of Ford bringing out smaller electric trucks, and in fact, Ford has filed patents for both the Maverick Lightning and the Ranger Lighting. But during this Wolfe conference, Farley zeroed in on the Maverick. He said customers don’t want an EV larger than the Escape, and a small Ford electric truck like the Maverick would have a 10% cost advantage because of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
So, we think Ford is likely leaning toward a Maverick-sized electric truck.
This is also in light of a conversation we had at the recent 2024 Ford Ranger media event. We asked if there were plans to produce a hybrid midsize truck. We got the standard “we don’t talk about future product” line, but we also got something more specific: The Ranger customer isn’t pushing for a hybrid. If they aren’t pushing for a hybrid, they probably aren’t pushing for an EV either.
When will we see small Ford electric truck?
An Automotive News story states Ford is planning three new EV models: a small SUV, a small pickup and ride-hailing vehicle. The first model is slated to be out in 2026 and start around $25k.
We should say the source of all this current scuttlebutt is a subscriber-only Bloomberg story that we don’t have access to. But we trust Automotive News (which we do subscribe to) to get it right.
Back to that conference transcript, however, when Farley was asked when we’d see this next generation of small electric vehicles, he said, less specifically: “Yeah, 2025, 2026 to 2027.”
The bottom line
It’s clear something smaller from Ford Motor Co. is coming, but it’s less clear exactly what is coming and when. We’ve reached out to Ford Communications to get some clarification, but at the time of posting this article, we haven’t received a reply.
So, is a small Ford electric truck coming? Probably. Hopefully, we’ll know more soon.
