Ford is making big moves in the world of electric vehicles (EVs) by building out its secretive low-cost EV team. Over the past year, the team has grown to around 300 employees, with notable hires from companies like Rivian, Tesla, Canoo, Lucid Motors, and Apple’s disbanded EV team known as Project Titan. Ford has also recruited two senior aerodynamicists from Formula 1 teams to work on the project.
The expansion of this team is part of Ford’s strategy to compete with Tesla and fend off cheap competition from China. CEO Jim Farley has emphasized the importance of cost and efficiency in their EV products, recognizing that the affordable Tesla and Chinese OEMs will be the ultimate competition.
In addition to bringing in external talent, Ford acquired a startup called Auto Motive Power (AMP) in late 2023. This acquisition brought in a team of over 100 people who are working on a low-cost EV platform aimed at mass-market vehicles that can rival Tesla.
The team’s main hub is located in Irvine, California, the same place where Rivian is headquartered. Ford has been actively hiring engineers from Rivian, as well as other former Canoo employees and a senior fabricator. The hiring spree continued in early 2024 when Ford recruited a senior mechanical design engineer who worked on Tesla’s “gigacasting” team, which aims to simplify the vehicle manufacturing process.
Rivian’s decision to lay off 10% of its workforce in February presented an opportunity for Ford to hire additional talent. The Advanced EV team hired a dozen engineers from Rivian and later brought on Canoo’s former VP of engineering.
Ford has also expanded the team’s presence in Palo Alto, hiring electrical engineers and program managers from companies like Nuro, Lucid Motors, and eVTOL startup Joby. Multiple engineers from Apple’s Project Titan were also added to the Palo Alto office.
Interestingly, most of the new hires for Ford’s low-cost EV project come from within the world of electric cars, with a few exceptions from eVTOL startups. This demonstrates Ford’s commitment to assembling a team with expertise in EV technology.
While Ford has not provided specific details on how it is building out the team, they have referred to it internally as Ford Advanced EV. The company notes that the work being done by this team may not be limited to just the low-cost EV project, but could also be applied to other efforts across the company.
Ford’s Chief EV, Digital, and Design Officer, Doug Field, stated that the Ford Advanced EV team is focused on developing breakthrough EV products and technologies. With their growing team and strategic hires, Ford is positioning itself to be a significant player in the electric vehicle market and deliver competitive, affordable EVs to consumers.