--- title: "Ford’s CEO Says Upcoming Electric Pickup Truck Will Drive Itself" description: "Ford Motor Co. plans to make driver-assistance features central to the next electric F-Series pickup — so much so that you might be able to take a snooze at 60 miles per hour." type: "NewsArticle" publisher: "Daily Maverick" site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za" section: "Business Maverick" author: "Bloomberg" author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/bloomberg/" canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-03-24-fords-ceo-says-upcoming-electric-pickup-truck-will-drive-itself/" published: "2023-03-24T17:44:36" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 566 --- # Ford’s CEO Says Upcoming Electric Pickup Truck Will Drive Itself > Ford Motor Co. plans to make driver-assistance features central to the next electric F-Series pickup — so much so that you might be able to take a snooze at 60 miles per hour. By Bloomberg · Published 24 March 2023, 19:44 SAST ## Key points - Ford Motor Co. is taking the driver's seat in the autonomous vehicle market with their next electric F-Series pickup, promising a revolutionary product that will let you take your hands off the wheel at 60 miles per hour - and maybe even catch some Z's! - Ford Motor Co. plans to make driver-assistance features central to the next electric F-Series pickup, allowing drivers to take their hands off the wheel on certain highways. - The new battery-powered pickup is known internally as Project T3 and will be capable of towing and hauling, while being “fully updatable” through software downloads. - Ford is investing $50 billion into developing and building EVs by 2026, aiming for an 8% margin on EV earnings before interest and taxes by 2026. - The Tennessee plant is part of a $5.6 billion compound known as BlueOval City that will include a sprawling battery factory by South Korea’s SK On and employ 6,000 workers when it opens in 2025. ## Content Ford Motor Co. plans to make driver-assistance features central to the next electric F-Series pickup — so much so that you might be able to take a snooze at 60 miles per hour. “On the highway on a sunny day, you should be able to go to sleep in your truck or make a call or do whatever you want to do in your truck while it drives for you,” Jim Farley, Ford’s chief executive officer, said in an interview Friday on Bloomberg Television. “It will be completely digital. It’s a really breakthrough product.” That kind of technology would be a significant advancement from Ford’s current BlueCruise semi-autonomous feature, which allows drivers to take their hands off the wheel on certain highways, but requires them to keep their eyes on the road. Transportation officials have [warned repeatedly](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-18/tesla-autopilot-stirs-u-s-alarm-as-disaster-waiting-to-happen) that no commercially available vehicle today can drive itself, even as companies such as Tesla Inc. market boundary-pushing driver-assistance features. Farley’s comments show Ford’s commitment to the technology even after it [shut down](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-26/argo-ai-backed-by-ford-and-vw-tells-workers-it-s-shutting-down) its autonomous affiliate, Argo AI, five months ago because it said achieving full self-driving was [too far off](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-21/amazon-amzn-self-driving-car-deal-with-ford-f-vw-fell-through). The pickup, scheduled to debut in 2025, aims to build on the success of the F-150 Lightning plug-in truck that’s underpinning the automaker’s ambitious — and [costly](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-23/ford-f-sees-electric-vehicle-losses-growing-to-3-billion-in-2023) — push into the EV market. Demand for the model drove Ford to expand capacity at the Stanton, Tennessee, factory that’s under construction to produce half a million trucks a year, about 40% more than the company forecast in November. “We’re seeing growth now so we want to build a bigger plant because we need the capacity,” Farley said. [Read more: Ford Sees Electric-Vehicle Losses Growing to $3 Billion in 2023](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-23/ford-f-sees-electric-vehicle-losses-growing-to-3-billion-in-2023) The plant — Ford’s first all-new assembly facility in a [half-century](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-16/ford-s-new-5-6b-electric-car-factory-stirs-concern-in-rural-tennessee) — is part of a $5.6 billion compound known as [BlueOval City](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-27/ford-sk-building-11-4-billion-electric-truck-battery-plants) that will include a sprawling battery factory by South Korea’s SK On, a unit of SK Innovation Co. The six-square mile [complex](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-23/ford-breaks-ground-on-5-6-billion-ev-complex-in-tennessee) is due to open in 2025 and employ 6,000 workers. The higher output means the Tennessee plant would account for a quarter of the [2 million](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-21/ford-secures-battery-supply-to-build-600-000-evs-a-year-by-2023) EVs Ford plans to build annually by the end of 2026, though the company didn’t say when it will reach full capacity. The automaker is pouring [$50 billion](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-02/ford-ceo-farley-takes-a-long-journey-to-rebuilding-old-automaker) into developing and building EVs by 2026 as it chases Tesla, which controls [two-thirds](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-01-25/elon-musk-s-flailing-reputation-is-bad-news-for-tesla-stock) of the US market for battery-powered models. Ford has set a goal of an [8% margin](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-22/ford-f-prepares-to-reveal-losses-from-its-ev-business) on EV earnings before interest and taxes by 2026. Farley said he believes Ford can close the earnings gap with Tesla, which has operating margins approaching 17%. “We can do better than 8%, especially on a pickup truck,” Farley said. “The reality is that Tesla has not had a lot of competition until Ford and other brands, so their pricing is going to go down. Year over year, Tesla’s prices have come down $7,000” per vehicle. [Read more: Ford Stirs Hopes, Fears With First All-New Auto Plant Since 1969](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-16/ford-s-new-5-6b-electric-car-factory-stirs-concern-in-rural-tennessee) The new battery-powered pickup, which is different than its [F-150 Lightning](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-04-14/2022-ford-f-150-lightning-electric-truck-takes-on-tesla) plug-in pickup built in Michigan, is known internally as Project T3, for “Trust the Truck.” It will be capable of towing and hauling, while being “fully updatable” through software downloads, Ford said. “This next truck is going to be a lot different, a lot better” than the Lightning, Farley said.