Electric Vehicle | Ford New Headquarters for Affordable Electric Vehicle Models to be Located in Long Beach, California

Location：Home > > Market Intelligence > Electric Vehicle | Ford New Headquarters for Affordable Electric Vehicle Models to be Located in Long Beach, California

Electric Vehicle | Ford New Headquarters for Affordable Electric Vehicle Models to be Located in Long Beach, California

Date：2024-06-27

Font size：A+A-

Keyword tags： EV North Anerica Ford

According to the Long Beach news, Ford has officially chosen Long Beach as the site for its new headquarters for the development of the next generation of electric vehicle platforms. The new headquarters will be where Ford's "skunkworks" team develops and manufactures its affordable next-generation electric vehicles.

Mayor Rex Richardson and Ford announced on June 26th at the "Grow Long Beach" economic growth strategy presentation in Long Beach that Ford's economy vehicle development team will soon establish its new headquarters at Douglas Park, near Long Beach Airport. The new headquarters will include a new electric vehicle development center and a factory.

Ford CEO Jim Farley had previously disclosed in a media teleconference for investors in February that Ford has been "secretly" developing a low-cost electric vehicle platform. According to Farley, Ford has a small "skunkworks" team working on the development of this project.

This team includes many of "the world's best electric vehicle engineers" who have been recruited from top competitors, led by Alan Clarke, who worked at Tesla for 12 years. In addition to talent from Tesla, the team includes former employees from Rivian, Lucid, and Apple. Ford has also brought in many talents from the eVTOL industry, such as Archer Aviation, Joby, and Hyundai's Supernal.

The team is advancing Ford's next generation of economical electric vehicles. Ford stated that the new platform will be highly flexible and will support several different types of vehicles. "They are approaching electric vehicle design in a completely different way, using different products at different costs, with smaller batteries and different battery chemistries," Farley explained.

2024 Mustang® Mach-E®

"Long Beach is a key part of our broader strategy to attract top talent to develop future vehicles and experiences for our customers," said Doug Field, Ford's Chief of Electric Vehicles, Digital, and Design, in this statement.

Ford plans to put the Long Beach campus headquarters into operation in early 2025. The headquarters will include two buildings with a capacity for up to 450 employees working on the design of a "low-cost, flexible electric vehicle platform" and the development of "a new generation of small, affordable cars."

Ford had an automobile assembly plant in Long Beach from the 1930s to the 1950s, which was a glorious period for Ford Motor Company, with nearly 2,000 workers producing hundreds of cars every day at its peak. However, the Ford plant closed in 1958.

Before moving to Long Beach, Ford's electric vehicle team was headquartered in Irvine.

"Ford's arrival signifies that our Long Beach growth strategy is working," Rex Richardson said in a statement, adding that the city is attracting advanced manufacturing and engineering jobs and has become an innovation center for space startups and automotive companies. Richardson noted that Mercedes-Benz already has a research and development center in Long Beach, and companies such as SpaceX and Vast, which is developing a man-made space station, are expanding their workforce here.

Ford executive Field said the company plans to continue recruiting hardware and software talents from around the world for the electric vehicle development team. The Long Beach headquarters will "create a center for developing advanced electric vehicle technology and products," alongside Ford's product development center in Dearborn and Greenfield labs in Palo Alto.

Ford is the second best-selling automotive brand in the United States. The Mustang Mach-E is the third best-selling electric vehicle model in the United States, after Tesla's Model Y and Model 3, while the F-150 Lightning pickup remains the best-selling pickup in the United States.

2024 F-150® Lightning®

Ford's electric vehicle sales increased by 64.7% in May, reaching 8,966 units, including 4,255 Mustang Mach-E electric vehicle sales, which grew by 46% compared to May 2023; sales of the Ford F-150 Lightning also increased by 91% year-over-year, reaching 3,260 units. Ford's electric commercial van, the E-Transit, also continues to see increasing sales, reaching 1,450 units, a 77% increase year-over-year.

Service Queries

Newest Market Intelligence

Reading Ranking