Known as “Project T3”, the next-gen electric pickup will “reinvent the Ford truck franchise”

by Sebastien Bell

March 24, 2023 at 11:29

by Sebastien Bell

The next generation of electric pickups from Ford is well on its way and production will start in 2025, at a new production site in Tennessee.

Dubbed “Project T3,” Ford’s vehicle team has been in constant communication with the architects designing “BlueOval City,” a new production campus currently under construction in West Tennessee.

The new production site is designed from the get-go for building EVs. Ford says that this will lead to advantages such as a production line that’s 30 percent smaller than the ones found at traditional plants. The carmaker expects to assemble 500,000 electric trucks per year, once the site reaches full production.

Read: Ford’s Electric Car Unit Braces For $3 Billion Loss In 2023 As It Invests In New Tech

“Project T3 is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to revolutionize America’s truck,” said Jim Farley, Ford president and CEO. “We are melding 100 years of Ford truck know-how with world-class electric vehicle, software and aerodynamics talent. It will be a platform for endless innovation and capability.”

Ford said that Project T3 will reinvent its truck franchise. The name, which stands for “Trust the Truck,” was inspired by the rallying cry of the development team. It is attempting to create a vehicle that is “fully updatable, constantly improving, and supports towing, hauling, exportable power, and endless new innovations.”

“PJ O’Rourke once described American pickups as ‘a back porch with an engine attached.’ Well, this new truck is going to be like the Millennium Falcon—with a back porch attached,” said Farley.

He claimed that BlueOval City will be as innovative as the trucks built there. The facility will be 3,600 acres large, will have battery manufacturing on-site, and will seek to reduce its environmental impact in every it can. That means green electricity, geothermal heating, and wastewater recycling.

As the result of a $5.6 billion investment, Ford’s BlueOval City will be operated by 6,000 employees and will play a crucial role in Ford’s plan to build 2 million EVs per year by 2026.