Just 25,800 euros and 100,000 units sold: Ford’s affordable electric car aims to challenge Tesla and its biggest success story

06/09/2026 12:30

Updated to

06/09/2026 12:30

Ford, which will produce a new electric SUV in Valencia alongside the manufacturer of this plug-in hybrid SUV with a 1000 km range for just 25,125 euros, has been searching for years for the Holy Grail of electric cars: a cheap model that can compete with Tesla in the United States and serve as a foundation to successfully rival BYD in Europe, which already dominates the electric vehicle market there.

And that cheap electric car finally exists — it’s the new Ford Fathom pickup, which will be sold in the United States next year starting at 29,950 dollars — equivalent to 25,800 euros — and for which Ford is highly optimistic: after all, it aims for 100,000 units sold in its first year of production. A success that only Tesla has achieved so far.

100,000 Units Sold in the First Year: Tesla’s Rapid Success

Achieving over 100,000 sales — always referring to the U.S. market — during the first full year of production for an electric car is something that only Tesla has accomplished. It did this in 2021, the first full year of production for the Tesla Model Y, with the world’s best-selling electric SUV. In fact, it far surpassed this achievement by reaching 161,527 sales.

And although Tesla reached 385,897 sales in one year — in 2023 — in this market, repeating such a massive success is very difficult. However, Ford is confident it can achieve this with its new affordable electric pickup — worth 25,800 euros — which is already undergoing road tests.

This is at least what “sources close to Ford” have told The Wall Street Journal, with the American newspaper stating that Ford aims to achieve this success by reaching “a massive market” — something it has not accomplished with its recent electric vehicles.

Ford aimed for 100,000 sales with this electric car but failed

But be careful, because one thing is saying they will achieve this success that only Tesla has reached, and another entirely different thing is actually doing it. Ford already knows what it’s like to fail at this attempt, as well as with another electric pickup that, although not exactly cheap, was also aimed at that mass market.

We are talking about the failed electric pickup Ford F-150 Lightning, the EV version of the best-selling pickup in the United States introduced in 2021, with Ford previously stating it aimed to sell over 100,000 units by 2022. The result? Instead of success, it was a complete failure, as even during its best years—Ford stopped producing this electric vehicle last year—the deliveries never exceeded one-fifth of those 100,000 sales targets.

With this in mind, the Ford Fathom—the affordable electric vehicle that introduces the Ford Universal EV Platform, which the oval-shaped brand will use in the coming years to develop several low-cost electric models—faces an extremely high bar set by the success of the Tesla Model Y. And the best thing for everyone, both the industry and consumers, is if it manages to meet and exceed that goal of 100,000 sales.