Ford to offer flashy driving tech with $30,000 electric vehicle in 2028

Ford engine plans to introduce visual driving technology in an upcoming $30,000 all-electric vehicle in 2028, the Detroit automaker announced Wednesday.

The goal puts Ford in a race against competitors like tesla, general motors and Rivian Automotive develop and widely launch such systems, which Wall Street sees as a potential growth market for fully autonomous vehicles.

Ford's plan is similar to that of other automakers, but the company plans to offer the new system first in a conventional electric vehicle, rather than in a more expensive model, defying typical technological rollouts in the auto industry.

“It's part of what has evolved into a broader technology strategy of putting our newest and best technology where the volume is and where the affordability is,” Doug Field, Ford's director of electric vehicles, digital and design, told CNBC during an interview.

The first vehicle to feature the new system is expected to be built on the company's upcoming “universal EV platform,” which Ford says is capable of supporting a variety of vehicles. The first is a midsize pickup truck for approximately $30,000 that will hit the market in 2027.

Field, who joined Ford after passing through Apple and Tesla, said the first vehicle with the free view system will have that starting price, but did not reveal if it would be the truck.

Ford has said the next-generation EV platform reduces parts by 20% compared to a typical vehicle, with 25% fewer fasteners, 40% fewer workstations in the plant and 15% faster assembly time.

Field announced the Eye-Off system at the CES technology show in Las Vegas along with other plans, including a new vehicle software architecture as well as an artificial intelligence assistant designed by Ford.

GM announced similar plans in October, including an artificial intelligence assistant and vision system expected to launch in 2028 on its electric Cadillac Escalade IQ. That vehicle currently starts at more than $127,000.

Ford, led by CEO Jim Farley, is under pressure to deliver on the new vehicle platform, known as UEV, and its supporting technologies, which are largely owned by Field.

The company has wasted billions of dollars amid changes in electric vehicle strategies, as well as quality and production issues in recent years.

Ford has significantly reduced its spending on electric vehicles and shifted its focus from large, all-electric trucks and SUVs to smaller, more affordable models through a special project, or “skunkworks,” team that created the UEV platform. Ford announced plans to invest about $5 billion in U.S. plants to produce the vehicles and the batteries to power them.

Field referred to the skunkworks team as a “bet” over the last few years that “has started to build tremendous confidence” in the “last few months.”

He said Ford now has all the critical software and supporting hardware it needs in-house for a new generation of technologically advanced vehicles to differentiate the automaker.

“One of the things we're seeing is how fast our development process is working on this product and this architecture compared to what we've done in the past,” Field said. “So we're very confident in our ability to bring this to light.”

Ford said last month that it expects to record about $19.5 billion in special items through 2027 related to such restructuring efforts and its withdrawal from investments in electric vehicles.

Field said Ford's planned observation system, which the auto industry refers to as “Level 3 driving automation,” will use a series of sensors and in-house software development to reduce costs compared to competitors.

Field declined to comment on the roadmap for expanding the new system to other vehicles, but said the goal is to commercialize the technology.

“The actual implementation schedule will be based on a lot of work we have to do on which customers need it in their applications, when, and which products are most ready for it now,” Field said. “It will take time to roll out everywhere, but we will prioritize it based on where we will have the biggest impact on customers.”

SAE International, formerly known as the Society of Automotive Engineers, has characterized automated driving for vehicles from Level 0 to Level 5. The highest, Level 5, is a fully autonomous vehicle, with each stage from Level 0 adding more technologies and allowing human drivers to be more “out of the loop.”

Ford currently offers a Level 2 advanced driver assistance system, or ADAS, known as BlueCruise. While active, a vehicle can drive itself under certain circumstances without human intervention on divided highways, but drivers must still pay attention to the roads and the system in case of problems.

Ford's new AI assistant is expected to launch in early 2026 through its phone apps for Ford and Lincoln, followed by a native in-vehicle experience starting in 2027, the company said Wednesday.

Several other automakers have also announced plans for AI digital assistants, but Field said he believes Ford will offer unique capabilities specific to each car or truck using each vehicle's unique identification number.

Ford said the AI ​​assistant will be able to review an image of a trailer to confirm whether a vehicle can adequately tow it, for example, or assess how many bags of mulch the inside of a car or truck can hold.

“The AI ​​companion is something we think we can make special for Ford, representative of what we're trying to do on the customer experience side,” Field said.

Expected to help improve the customer experience will be an updated internal software architecture that Ford calls an “integrated digital platform” that will debut with the UEV platform.

The company said the updated system will result in “a more unified 'brain' within the vehicle: a single, powerful module that unifies infotainment, ADAS, audio and networking.”

“For customers, that means a vehicle that feels more consistent, more reliable and more capable year after year,” Field said in a blog post accompanying the CES announcements.