One of America’s largest automakers is desperate to beat Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD at its own low-cost EV game.
While Ford was displaying some of its most classic cars at an iconic Washington, D.C. train station near the U.S. Capitol to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, its CEO, Jim Farley, was thinking about the next series of cars he hopes will be displayed in a glass case at a future national birthday celebration of the milestone.
In particular, he said, the new $30,000 pickup truck that Ford has in store will be a modern model that future generations will cherish as a historic landmark.
“I think you’re going to see a product that really has the potential to change our industry,” Farley said in an interview with USA TODAY. “Don’t just have a successful product. Like any other OEM you’ll be given a model name. But actually a project that’s almost as revolutionary as the Model T. Ironically, it’s a small electric pickup truck.”
Farley continued, “It doesn’t look like a Model T, but it has exactly the same philosophy.” “I think if Henry Ford were reborn, he would want to work with Alan Clark on that project, because it’s revolutionary to beat BYD at their own game – an affordable electric vehicle, but it’s an American product because it’s a pickup.”
The comments come as the average price of a new electric car reached $54,532 in May 2026, according to Kelley Blue Book, the latest data available. The average price of a new Ford in May was $57,188.
But Farley said he believes Ford’s upcoming electric pickup needs to be more affordable if the company really wants to compete with BYD.
Farley said he believed “the pickup’s body style is similar to the Model T.”
“I think Henry didn’t put a pickup truck bed on the Model T until its lifetime,” he said. “But if he were around today, he certainly would. If we reinvented the Model T today, it would be an electric car. And it would have a pickup truck bed because of its flexibility. And it would be radically affordable. And its affordability would come through innovation. Not just through cost cutting.”
What is BYD?
BYD is the largest EV seller in China. It also briefly overtook Tesla to become the world’s largest EV maker in 2025. The company’s acronym stands for “Build Your Dreams”. It was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
According to the company’s December sales report, BYD sold 4,602,436 passenger and commercial vehicles in 2025.
The sales figure includes 2,256,714 battery electric cars, 2,288,709 plug-in hybrids and 57,013 commercial vehicles.
Tesla remains the largest EV seller in the US with sales of 589,160 domestic units in 2025, according to Cox Automotive. According to the group, Ford plans to sell 84,113 EVs in 2025.
How much does BYD’s Chinese EV cost?
According to the company’s website, the average price of BYD cars sold in Europe is $45,083. There are also compact electric models whose prices start at $28,000.
The average price of a new electric car in the United States reached $54,532 in May 2026, the latest data available, according to Kelley Blue Book.
Critics say BYD is able to offer cheaper electric cars than its American counterparts because it does not have to follow American labor standards for compensation and working conditions. They say that to compete with BYD in terms of pricing, domestic automakers will have to sell their EVs at losses.
BYD’s electric cars are not currently sold in the United States due to factors such as high tariffs currently in place and federal regulations regarding connected car technology and vehicle safety standards that the company views as restrictive.
Why does Ford believe it can compete with BYD on cheap EVs?
Farley said Ford believes it can compete with BYD on EV prices because it is following the principles that resulted in its famous Model T car.
“The Model T had the most expensive metal, steel-grade metal you could buy as an automaker,” he said. “It had more expensive steel than a Rolls-Royce. And that was his philosophy. The best materials, the simplest design.”
Farley said Ford calls the $30,000 electric pickup internally a “universal electric vehicle,” a nod to the Model T known as a “universal car” within the Dearborn automaker.
“We took this Skunk Works team in California that was basically made up of Formula 1 guys and we created what we call the Universal Electric Vehicle,” he said. “This was very intentional. This product has some of the most revolutionary innovations we’ve seen in our industry in 120 years. We’re not doing it to be radical. We’re doing it because we need to make money at low costs like Henry came up with.”
Farley said: “You could argue that the Tesla Model
When will Ford’s $30,000 electric pickup be available?
Farley said Ford’s affordable pickup will be available by the end of 2027.
He said the car would have two larger unit castings and 50% fewer fasteners than other Ford cars.
“Our philosophy is the best part is there is no part,” Farley said.
Farley said the $30,000 electric pickup is “probably one of the biggest bets I’ve ever made as a CEO.”
“We’ve been working on this for five years,” he said. “Not sure if history will be kind or not, but we tried our best.”
Farley said Ford’s new affordable electric pickup will be targeted at people who currently drive a small crossover SUV like the Toyota RAV4.
“We learned a lot from the Lightning,” he said. “It was too big, the batteries were too expensive, but people liked the functional pickup.”
Farley continued: “It was kind of shocking to us that so many Lightning people weren’t pickup owners. It’s the same with the UEV. We decided to make it a pickup, not to target pickup customers, but to target 2 row crossover customers. Because they had never had a 4-door pickup that was as big as the RAV-4 inside, it also had a pickup bed and the hybrid was smaller economical. It was cheaper to operate than the utility because it’s electric.”
Is Ford worried about declining federal support for EVs?
Farley said Ford has been undaunted in its development of the $30,000 electric pickup truck by the fluctuating level of federal government support for EVs, which largely depends on whether a Republican or Democratic administration is in charge in Washington.
“That was the whole purpose of the project,” he said. “We wanted to make money on $30,000 without any incentives.”
Farley said: “Five, six years ago, it was the opposite of our entire industry. Our entire industry was obsessed with a $50,000-$70,000 electric vehicle, including some of us at Ford. And we became an all-out student organization to create a $30,000 affordable EV made in America that is profitable and sustainable. We’re going to support the company’s roots.”
Farley said Ford feels like it “has to beat BYD.”
“There’s a competitive aspect here that didn’t exist with the Model T or (Tesla) Model Y,” he said. “To beat BYD at $30,000, like BYD did it in Mexico, is an incredible fitness test.”
Reporting by Keith Lang, USA TODAY/USA TODAY. USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.