Ford is betting $2 billion on a new Louisville Assembly Plant to build affordable EVs starting in 2027. The first model will be a $30,000 midsize pickup truck. This move shakes up Ford’s century-old production by using a new three-part assembly line with more automation and unicastings.
CEO Jim Farley warned it’s a risk:
“There are no guarantees with this project. We’re doing so many new things, I can’t tell you with 100% uncertainty that this will all go just right; it is a bet. There is risk.”
The $2 billion investment is part of a $5 billion experiment, including $3 billion for an LFP battery factory. The new method can’t easily scale to other Ford plants since it depends heavily on the vehicle’s unique design split into three unicastings.
Ford is pressured by tariffs, sluggish EV demand, and fierce competition from China. This gamble aims to keep U.S. jobs and improve margins by building EVs faster and with fewer parts.
A rental car startup called Kyte is out of business. Once pitched as the “best alternative to Hertz,” Kyte sold its customer list to peer-to-peer car-sharing company Turo in July. Kyte entered receivership in California after shrinking to just two markets and massive layoffs. Turo says it only owns the bought assets and won’t cover claims from stranded Kyte customers.
Deals roundup:
- UK’s Bumper, a buy now, pay later platform for car repairs, raised $10.8M led by Autotech Ventures.
- Lagos food delivery startup Chowdeck raised $9M Series A led by Novastar Ventures.
- Urban air mobility company Eve Air Mobility raised $230M and announced dual U.S.-Brazil listings.
- Indian electric motorcycle startup Ultraviolette took in $21M in an all-equity round led by TDK Corporation.
- Transit software company Via filed IPO paperwork with revenue up 35% to $337M and net loss down to $90M. CEO Daniel Ramot’s 2024 pay is $9.5M.
- Chinese AV company WeRide secured undisclosed investment from Grab to speed robotaxi deployment in Southeast Asia.
Foxconn dropped out of electric tractor manufacturing after selling its Ohio factory to SoftBank. The plant was part of Foxconn’s EV contract manufacturing plans. Other clients—Lordstown Motors, Fisker, and IndiEV—have gone bankrupt.
Self-driving truck startup Waabi hired former Uber Freight CEO Lior Ron as COO. Ron stays Uber Freight chairman. Rebecca Tinucci, who helped build Tesla’s charging network, is now Uber Freight head.
The National EV Infrastructure program’s $5 billion fund has unthawed after months, with new Trump-era guidance letting states unlock spending.
Indian ride-hailing service Rapido is testing food delivery in Bengaluru, taking on Swiggy and Zomato.
EV scooter startup Revel shut down its NYC ride-hailing to focus on EV charging.
Elon Musk confirmed Tesla cut its Dojo AI supercomputer project, shifting focus to new AI5 and AI6 chips made by TSMC and Samsung. This kills the $500M Buffalo factory plan.
Bonus: The Autonocast podcast interviewed Nuro co-founder and president Dave Ferguson. Catch it here.
