Ford Boosts EV Investment Plans With Focus on Budget Models (1)

Ford Motor Co. unveiled plans for a new line of budget electric vehicles in a $5 billion bid to achieve the mass appeal that has so far eluded its money-losing EV business.

The automaker’s new “universal EV platform” represents its first battery-powered models fully designed from the ground up, after early efforts such as the F-150 Lightning plug-in pickup failed to meet lofty sales expectations.

The new platform will spawn a family of EVs starting with a $30,000 mid-sized pickup truck in 2027, the company said in a statement Monday. That will be followed by battery-powered models expected to include ...