Ford v Slate: Will the Legacy Brand’s $30,000 Pickup Crush the Little Start-Up’s Own Affordable Pickup?

Ford’s plan to bring out a midsize $30,000 battery-electric pickup could be great news for buyers looking for an affordable EV. But it might be bad news for Slate, the suburban Detroit start-up that only recently announced plans to launch its own low-cost truck. More from Headlight.News.

Ford Motor Co. on Monday offered a glimpse into the “skunkworks” project launched by CEO Jim Farley in a bid to dominate the emerging EV market. The automaker said it completely reimagined the process of designing and building vehicles, with the “Universal EV” program set to bring out its first model, a 4-door pickup, in 2027.

At a “targeted” starting price of $30,000, the truck would cost less than half what the typical EV has gone for this year, industry analysts betting that such affordable offerings could kick-start a U.S. EV market that has lost a significant amount of momentum over the last two years.

Ford isn’t the only automaker looking to launch more budget-minded EVs, of course – and a small Detroit start-up called Slate made plenty of headlines back in April when it debuted its own entry-priced pickup, now expected to come in at $27,000. But industry watchers warn that the Jeff Bezos-backed Slate might now have a much harder time making a go of it.

“Slate is cooked,” said Sam Abuelsamid, lead analyst with Telemetry Research.”

How low can they go

EV sales grew more than eightfold between 2019 and 2023. Demand, however, has leveled off, growing only at about the same rate as the overall U.S. market so far this year. And experts like Abuelsamid believe demand could slacken even more when federal tax credits expire at the end of September – among many actions announced by the Trump administration expected to weaken interest in the technology.

Part of the problem is that early adopters have largely already gotten the vehicles they want. But EVs are a bit rich for many mainstream buyers, at an average transaction price of $55,689 in July, according to Kelley Blue Book. For all new vehicles sold in the U.S. last month, the average was $48,401.

Driving down the EV number hasn’t been easy, which is why Slate generated so much attention when it said its little pickup could come in at or just below $20,000 during an April unveiling out in California. Since then, however, Congress moved to phase out the EV tax credits, meaning the Slate pickup is now targeted at around $27,000, according to the start-up’s website. That would still be thousands less than anything else now available, however.

“We are building the affordable vehicle that has long been promised but never delivered,” Slate CEO Chris Barman said in April.

Ford v Slate

Even Ford won’t be able to match what Slate is planning to put on sale next year, a statement indicating it has a “targeted price of $30,000” for the pickup that will be the first to use the new Universal EV process.

For entry-level buyers, $3,000 can be a big difference but this isn’t an apples-to-apples comparison. The Slate model will, for starters will be a 2-door truck, Ford’s model going with four doors. Demand for 2-door vehicles has all but dried up, noted Abuelsamid.

Meanwhile, Slate’s offering will use hand-cranked windows and won’t even have a radio. There will be plenty of user-installable accessories, such as a kit to transform the 2-door pickup into an SUV, but this will be as basic as anything the market has seen in decades.

Not so the Ford pickup. The automaker was short on product specifics during its news conference this week but Kumar Galhotra, Ford’s Chief Operating Officer, made it clear the Universal EV family won’t be made up of econoboxes. “We do not believe that you need to strip out features, functionality, screens or even seats to make a vehicle affordable. We will achieve affordability by radically simplifying parts and process..”

More Affordable EV News

• Ford’s Universal EV Could be the Modern Model T
• First Look: Slate’s Affordable New EV Pickup
• Chevy Teases Return of the Bolt EV

“A difficult proposition”

Among other things, the Ford truck also is expected to deliver a base range of as much as 250 miles, about 100 more than Slate’s offering. Even at 200 it would come closer to what studies show consumers see as a bare minimum.

So, while Ford’s truck “may still be a little more expensive,” said Stephanie Brinley, principal auto analyst with S&P Global Mobility, “it does make it a more difficult proposition for Slate.”

Not all the observers Headlight.News spoke to were immediately ready to dismiss the little start-up. For one thing, Slate could have a sort of first-mover advantage, its pickup set to debut sometime next year, Ford not expecting to get its own truck out until 2027. Ford has yet to even begin the massive job of converting its Louisville Assembly Plant to handle its pickup.

Uncertainties

That will require more than just new tooling, The Universal EV project calling for major changes in the way vehicles are assembled, with three “sub-assemblies, rather than a single assembly line. Meanwhile, Slate is also working up new manufacturing processes, the body of its truck to be made of unpainted gray polypropylene, rather than steel or aluminum.

Both companies claim they are simplifying automotive manufacturing, but they could still run into challenges going from concept to actual vehicle production. Both launch dates could slide, said Brinley, as could the targeted prices both Slate and Ford have announced.

Ford, of course, has immensely deep pockets from which to fund the Universal EV project. Slate contends it has a solid footing, with the backing of wealthy investors like Jeff Bezos helping raise $700 million so far. But, as things stand now, Ford’s entry into the affordable EV market with a product all but directly up against what Slate plans to offer could be a devastating blow.

There is the reality that other manufacturers are eyeing the affordable EV segment, Chevrolet set to reveal a next-generation Bolt later this year. The fight for budget-minded EV buyers is set to get fierce.