Ford has been very secretive about its all-important new slate of EVs. That’s starting to change.
The Detroit automaker confirmed to Business Insider that its next EV, a midsize truck, will be called the Fathom. The company also said it will have a starting price of $28,350 — or $29,945 after destination charges.
Both the name and pricing are a big departure from Ford’s recent EV efforts. The company’s first generation of mass-market EVs — including the Mustang Mach-E and the F-150 Lightning — were named after iconic, nostalgic Ford vehicles. They also had sticker prices ranging from roughly $38,000 to around $90,000.
Fathom is a new nameplate for Ford. The sub-$30,000 starting price will also put the new EV in striking distance of the coming no-frills Slate truck.
Fathom is the result of a Skunkworks program that the company launched in 2022, which aimed at building simpler electric cars after Ford lost billions of dollars on its first generation of EV products.
Unlike the standard assembly line that Ford adopted in the early 1900s, the next generation of EVs will adopt an “assembly tree” production system. The company will build the EV’s front, rear, and structural battery-and-interior sections on three separate lines before joining them.
Ford has teased multiple silhouettes, suggesting that the retooled assembly line could support vehicles including a hatchback, SUVs, and a cargo van — but the company has not confirmed which of those models will reach production.
The Fathom, Ford says, has some pretty impressive specs. The automaker says it’s as fast off the line as the Mustang EcoBoost, and has the same interior cargo space as the Toyota RAV4 SUV.
It’s also Ford’s first vehicle that will have Apple software integration.
There’s still plenty we don’t know about the truck: we haven’t seen its full design, because Ford has only revealed images of the truck wrapped in camouflage. We also don’t have trim details or range estimates.
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