Ford wants to beat Chinese maker BYD at the cheap EV game. Here's how

One of America's largest automakers is desperate to beat Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD at its own cheap EV game.

As Ford was showing off 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 iteration of cars he hopes will be displayed in a glass case on a milestone national birthday celebration in the future.

In particular, he said, a new $30,000 pickup truck that Ford has in the works would be the modern model most likely to hailed by future generations on historical milestones.

"I think you're going to see a product that really has a potential to change our industry," Farley said in an interview with USA TODAY. "Not just be a successful product. Like any other OEM would give you a model name. But actually a project that is almost as revolutionary as the Model T was. Which ironically it's a small electric pickup truck."

"It doesn't look like the Model T, but it has the exact same philosophy," Farley continued. "I think if Henry Ford was reincarnated, he would want to work over with Alan Clark on that project, because it is 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, which is the most recent data available according to Kelley Blue Book. 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 much more affordable if the company is going to truly compete with BYD.

Farley said he believes "the pickup is the body style that is similar to the Model T."

"I think Henry didn't put a pickup truck bed on the Model T until the very of its life," he said. "But if he was around today, he would definitely. 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 it's affordability would come through innovation. Not through just cost cutting."

What is BYD?

BYD is the biggest EV seller in China. It also briefly became the world's largest EV maker in 2025, overtaking Tesla for a short time. The company's name is an acronym that stands for "Build Your Dreams." It was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.

BYD sold 4,602,436 passenger and commercial vehicles in 2025, according to the company's December sales report.

The sales figure included 2,256,714 battery electric cars, 2,288,709 plug-in hybrids and 57,013 commercial vehicles.

Tesla remains the biggest EV seller in the U.S., with 589,160 domestic units sold in 2025, according to Cox Automotive. Ford sold 84,113 EVs in 2025, according to the group.

How much do BYD's Chinese EVs cost?

BYD's cars that are sold in Europe have an average cost of $45,083, according to the company's website. It also has compact electric models that start as low as $28,000.

The average price of a new electric car in the United States reached $54,532 in May 2026, which is the most recent data available according to Kelley Blue Book.

Critics say BYD is able to offer cheaper electric cars than their U.S. counterparts because they do not have to abide by American labor standards for compensation and work conditions. They add that domestic automakers would have to sell their EVs at a loss to compete with BYD on pricing.

BYD's electric cars are currently not sold in the United States because of factors such as high tariffs that are currently in place and federal rules regarding connected car technology and vehicle safety standards that the company sees as restrictive.

Why does Ford believe it can compete on cheap EVs with BYD?

Farley said Ford believes it can compete with BYD on EV prices because it is following the principles that resulted in its it's legendary Model T car.

"The Model T had the most expensive metal, steel-graded metal that you could buy as an automaker," he said. "It had more expensive steel in it than Rolls-Royce used. And that was his philosophy. The best materials, the simplest design."

Farley said Ford calls the $30,000 electric pick up the "Universal Electric Vehicle" internally in a nod to the Model T being known within the Dearborn automaker as the "Universal Car."

"We took this skunk works team in California, made of basically it was Formula 1 people and we call it the Universal Electric Vehicle," he said. "That was very intentional. This product has some of the most radical innovation our industry has seen in 120 years. We're not doing it to be radical. We're doing it because we need to make money at a low cost like Henry came up with."

Farley added: "You could argue that the Tesla Model Y wound up being the Model T of the first inning of the electric revolution in the U.S. How interesting is it that we're coming to market with this UEV...that happens to be a pickup truck that no other competitors really tried."

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 will have two large unit castings and 50% less fasteners than other Ford cars.

"Our philosophy was the best part is no part," Farley said.

Farley said the $30,000 electric pickup is "probably one of the biggest bets I made as a CEO."

"We've been working on it for five years," he said. "Not sure if history is going to be kind or not, but we took a full swing."

Farley said Ford's new cheap electric pickup would be targeted at people who are currently driving small crossover SUVs like the Toyota RAV4.

"We learned a lot from Lightning," he said. "It was too big, the batteries were too expensive, but the functionality pickup people loved."

Farley continued: "It was kind of shocking to us that so many Lightning people were not pickup owners. That's the same with UEV. We decided to make it a pickup, not to target pick up customers, but to target 2 row crossover customers. Because they never had a 4-door pickup that was as big, bigger than a RAV-4 inside, that also had a pickup bed and was cheaper to operate than a hybrid small affordable utility because it's electric."

Is Ford worried about declining federal support for EVs?

Farley said Ford has been undeterred in its development of the $30,000 electric pickup truck by the fluctuating levels of federal government support for EVs that has depended largely on whether there is a Republican or Democratic administration in charge in Washington.

"The whole intent of the project was because of that,' he said. "We wanted to make money at $30,000 with no incentive."

Farley added: "Five, six years ago, this was the opposite of our entire industry. Our entire industry was obsessed, including some of us at Ford, with a $50,000-$70,000 electric vehicle. And we went completely student body left to do a $30,000 affordable EV, made in the U.S. that's the profitable and sustainable. We're going to back the roots of the company."

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 the (Tesla) Model Y," he said. "To beat BYD at $30,000, like a BYD made it in Mexico, that's an incredible fitness test."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ford wants to beat Chinese maker BYD at the cheap EV game. Here's how

Reporting by Keith Laing, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect

This story was originally published July 13, 2026 at 4:04 PM.