Ford patents universal car platform

The US car giant has filed a patent for a vehicle platform with changeable front and rear sections to suit all types of cars.

Ford has filed a patent for a universal platform to fit a wide range of vehicle types, which may improve quality and lower costs to help fight off cheaper Chinese electric vehicles.

The filing was discovered by US website CarBuzz and shows a patent application from Ford for a “vehicle chassis with interchangeable performance packages”.

The chassis in the application would use the same centre section, but where the Ford engineers have seen an opportunity is for the front and rear sections.

Here, the numerous front platform sections – powertrain suspension, wheels and their dimensions – could be fitted to suit the vehicle being built, whether a large SUV, pick-up or smaller urban city car.

The rear section could also be ‘swapped’, as well as host components such as the powertrain, giving even greater versatility and increasing the number of vehicle types able to be spun off the platform, reports CarBuzz.

The benefits could result in lower consumer prices, as the manufacturer works on development of a more affordable electric car.

As one of the world’s largest car manufacturers, Ford produced 4.4 million vehicles in 2023, meaning minor cost reductions per vehicle quickly become millions of dollars in savings – and potentially lower prices for consumers.

Sharing parts reduces the price per component, as Ford would be able to spread development and costs for raw materials across a greater number of vehicles.

Quality is also potentially improved, as any issues are picked up faster – given there are more parts to expose any issues – and the same fix can be diagnosed and applied more quickly than searching for remedies across numerous different parts.

Production costs are a significant battlefront in the global automotive business, with car makers constantly looking for ways to improve efficiency – lowering prices while maintaining and/or improving quality – in their factories.

The rise in electric vehicles has only increased the need for car makers to look at new production and manufacturing processes as making a profit has become increasingly difficult.

In October 2023, Ford revealed it made a loss of $US36,000 ($AU54,000) on every electric vehicle it built in the previous three months, reducing sales forecasts, cutting its electric car production and lowering vehicle prices in response.

That included a price reduction of up to $7000 for the battery-electric Ford Mustang Mach-E SUV sold in Australia on the eve of first customer deliveries.

The car maker’s electric division – ‘Model e’ – posted a 2023 loss of $US4.7 billion ($AU7.05 billion).

Ford is not alone though, with other car makers reducing electric car sales and production targets too – with studies showing most are losing money on electric vehicles.

Adding to the pressure, the rise of Chinese car manufacturing has seen it develop a reputation for producing high-quality products using more efficient, lower-cost methods, than many existing car makers.

Consumers are finding them increasingly appealing, with a recent study in the United States (US) – where Ford’s global operations are based – revealing most younger buyers are open to buying Chinese-made electric cars.

Electric car maker Tesla – which has factories in the US and China – has experimented with ‘Gigacasting’ to improve efficiency, using it to produce the front and rear sections of its vehicles.

Gigacasting is a process where large single pieces of metal are used for the vehicle floor and side panels – instead of a number of individual parts – saving time and lowering manufacturing costs.

Car makers such as Lexus have also used gigacasting techniques, while Mazda is using AI (Artificial Intelligence) to speed up its electric car development.

Hyundai introduced robots with Artificial Intelligence (AI) working alongside humans on the factory floor of its flagship Singapore manufacturing facility, which opened in 2023.

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