The average new vehicle MSRP in America exceeded the $50,000 mark last year, but Ford wants to help bring that curve down with five new vehicles priced below $40,000. And better still, not all of them will be SUVs, trucks, or vans — one will be a traditional four-door car, reports Automotive News, after an announcement was made by Andrew Fick, president of Ford Blue and Model e, at the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Show this week. Whether that means a hatchback or a sedan was not explicitly stated, but the latter has been hinted at several times in the past and has been missing from Ford’s menu since the Fusion was discontinued in 2020, making it the obvious choice. So what exactly can we expect?
Ford’s Affordable New Vehicles Will Be Made in America
Ford
The Blue Oval’s updated Ford+ business plan says that it will “fill U.S. plants with affordable new models,” thus avoiding tariffs on imports. Ford CEO Jim Farley said last year that he sees a “huge market” for sedans, and the Fusion was pulled six years ago because Ford lost money selling the European-born sedan in U.S. spec at a relatively palatable price. He then put forward the idea of a rear-wheel-drive, high-performance, affordable electric sedan, potentially with a liftback like the Audi A5 sedan. However, this new plan isn’t all about EVs.
Related: Ford Dealers Want Cheaper Cars to Take On Honda and Toyota
Fick’s announcement at the NADA Show revealed that the range of affordable vehicles would include “cars, trucks, SUVs, vans, and multi-energy [powertrains],” which means hybrids are in the works, and possibly even pure gas engines. This follows from Ford’s announcement last year, where it said that the Universal EV Platform is “flexible enough to underpin trucks, cars, and everything in between.” It won’t be long before we see the firstfruits of this new architecture, either.
Ford Just Teased an Affordable Pickup
On Thursday, Farley shared a preview of Ford’s affordable electric pickup, slated to enter the market at roughly $30,000 with the world’s cheapest electric motor and eyes-off self-driving. Besides an attractive entry price, Ford’s new pickup promises more space than a Toyota RAV4 and to be cheaper to own than a Tesla Model Y. This is scheduled to reach dealers next year, and we don’t have much longer to wait for the other affordable vehicles, as they’re all expected to arrive before the end of the decade.
With cheaper options in its lineup that will include a sedan and a variety of powertrains, AI tech that actually makes a difference, and a GT3 RS rival in the Dark Horse SC, Ford is working hard to be an automaker that appeals to everyone, regardless of budget or body style preference. Just don’t expect the new sedan to look like the Interceptor concept at the top of this article — that’s a 2007 design.
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