Ford Cd6 Platform

0 views

Skip to first unread message

Leysan Torri

unread,

Aug 4, 2024, 6:34:12 PM8/4/24

to bracelcomlock

ThisList of Ford platforms features automobile platforms developed by Ford Motor Company, its present-day subsidiaries, as well as those shared from subsidiaries from the past (Mazda, Mercury, Volvo, Jaguar, and Land Rover).

Ford announced in 2014 plans to reduce its vehicle platforms from sixteen to nine.[1] In 2014, Ford vehicles were built on fifteen distinct platforms. This only applies to Ford and Lincoln and not to any brands that were previously held by the company (such as Mazda and Volvo), and is expected to cut costs by 20%.

It's also worth noting that this may indicate yet another shift in Ford's EV strategy, this decision to invest less in larger, more expensive EVs, and investing more heavily in smaller, affordable offerings. That's basically the opposite of Ford's strategy last year.

Article mentions Tesla Model 3 as possible cost target, but I would not disregard upcoming Tesla Model 2 Redwood as the main future competitor in North America. If Ford is working on a new platform it needs to be competitive with next generation competitors, including those from China.

I'm curious to see how this turns out. I like that they had a skunkworks team do this as all of the big. priority projects that companies have usually have a lot of "cooks in the kitchen" (i.e. management and executives doing some micromanaging and perhaps cost cutting). This team may have been able to put together something that is a bit more pure from an engineering standpoint.

I'm curious if these affordable EVs were the skunkwork EVs Ford was delivering with F1 teams. Ford's areo strategy would work really well on an affordable EV, creating a vehicle with a smaller, cheaper battery that still has decent range.

Valid point, affordability is relative to the segments you're competing in. But I believe he's referring to the CE1 platform in this instance, which is apparently being used for electric versions of the maverick and bronco sport amongst other things.

In the grand scheme of things, EVs need to be more affordable and still provide a profit to the company making them. If anything this is just the future C or smaller based EVs that will eventually replace the C based products over the next 10 years or so.

Vehicles like Chevy Bolt and Nissan Leaf, both relatively affordable for a BEV, are not particularly aerodynamic but can function as city-oriented cars even though batteries are not high capacity. City driving range are adequate but EPA Highway ratings (at higher average speeds) take a hit, and an even greater hit if driven (tested) at steady 75 MPH. I seriously doubt many Bolt or Leaf owners would take long road trips in their EV, but as daily driver to work or shopping, range is probably sufficient. Still, buyers are purchasing a vehicle that is mostly practical for local trips close to home. IMO that lack of flexibility has to discourage a lot of buyers.

Given present technology and costs, making a BEV truly affordable to the masses essentially limits it to local city-oriented driving anyway, so IMO aerodynamics can be compromised somewhat; but only to a point because compact electric SUVs shaped like a brick that are getting well under 3 miles/kWh, when combined with small batteries, can be almost useless even for local trips. If it was easy to combine practical and affordable in a BEV, it would have been done already. Maybe Tesla Model 2 Redwood will redefine BEV affordability while still practical. Or who knows; it may fail miserably due to size, range, aesthetics, etc.

I used abetterrouteplanner.com to figure out this-my home to Wright Patterson AFB in Ohio. I drove out there about 6 years ago and took about 9-10 hours to drive and I had to fill up 3-4 times with gas. Its about 600 miles one way.

Using a MME with a standard Range battery and RWD would require 5 charges at roughly 2 hours and 20 minutes of waiting. If I used a Tesla Model 3 RWD, I'd still have to make 5 charges but I'd be able to cut an hour off charge times because of the Tesla charging stations (the MME was using electrify America), so once the SuperChargers are opened up to Ford, that should shrink the charging time for it.

According to Borg, they already have, this electric platform is called CE1, and will be used to offer things like a EV maverick. It's apparently quite similar to the c2 platform, which as we know, can accommodate hybrid powertrains.

because if you been paying attention, making a platform that straddles both ICE and EV compromises both. Why have to worry about putting a transmission tunnel or other things you don't need in an EV into a platform when it just adds weight and other compromises.

It has been reported that Tesla will use cheaper LFP batteries in new budget-oriented vehicle (Model 2 by whatever name Musk gives it) and speculation has been that it will be limited to 53 kWh capacity, though others have guessed that base vehicles may be lower than that. Ford could do the same.

Just to add a bit of levitiy here-driving 200 miles or so takes about 4 hours or so-so if you have a supercharger available, you could fast charge to 80-90% in 20 minutes or so-enough time to use the bathroom and grab fast food for lunch.

Skateboard platforms are best when you want a long range BEV with no off road ability and can sell at least a couple hundred thousand a year. Ford currently has no BEV selling in those volumes, and is concentrating on "off road" capable vehicles and trucks for the foreseeable (from "glass house") future. Ford could fill half the pickup box on an F series with batteries and half the customers wouldn't notice, never mind between the frame rails and such. As for the "transmission tunnel", most of them in my fleet are transverse and could just as well host batteries and either or both IC or EV drivetrains. Looking at the underside of my VW MQB platform Golf 7 TDI, it's pretty obvious it's designed to be built as an BEV, Hybrid, and several flavors of IC. Given how slowly VW's dedicated "ID" BEVs are selling, it's no surprise VW is moving away from dedicated BEVs and hedging it's bets on flexible powered platforms- Within the last few months VW has announced both a Golf 8.5 with IC and hybrid power and similar looking Golf 9 BEV. VW makes many more vehicles than Ford and is concentrated on the auto market while Ford is concentrating on trucks. If VW is having a hard time justifying dedicated BEVs, how can Ford justify new dedicated BEV platforms?

After a year of hiring tech, Hollywood and coaching talent, Ford on Wednesday launched the platform dubbed Ford University for U.S. dealers. The goal, its creators said, is that a more cinematic and interactive training experience will improve memory retention of information, helping salespeople and service technicians best answer customer questions, show the full value in the Dearborn automaker's products and be more effective at their jobs.