万博 from 副驾寺
Reference to Intelligent Vehicles | WeChat Official Account: AI4Auto
After a period of uncertainty, Ford finally launched its escape-style electric vehicle transformation.
Ford ultimately decided to spin-off its electric vehicle and gasoline vehicle businesses into separate operating units with clear responsibilities. The gasoline vehicle business will be in charge of earning profits while the electric vehicle business will pave the way for Ford’s electrification transformation.
How will the electric vehicle business be restructured?
Ford’s CEO, James Farley, has taken direct control of the electric vehicle business, with a team of experienced electric vehicle veterans, some of whom have been recruited from Tesla, working alongside him.
The restructured gasoline vehicle and electric vehicle businesses will be known as Ford Blue and Ford Model e, respectively.
Ford has disclosed that Ford Blue, which is responsible for the gasoline vehicle business, will include all of Ford’s main gasoline vehicle brands, such as Mustang, F-150, and Bronx.
Model e will focus on the electric vehicle business, including Ford’s three electric vehicles currently on sale or pre-order: Mustang Mach-E, E-Transit, and F-150 Lightning.
According to Ford’s plan, Model e will also be responsible for research and development of intelligent connected technology for all Ford and Lincoln models.
In addition, Stuart Rowley, Ford’s Chief Transformation and Quality Officer, who is one of the key players in Ford’s electrification transformation, stated that due to the substantial capital investment required for the growth stage of Model e’s electric vehicle business, Ford Blue, which is responsible for the gasoline vehicle business, will become Ford’s profit engine and bear the responsibility of funding the electrification transformation.
Regarding rumors of a separate listing for the electric vehicle business, Ford stated that it has sufficient internal funds to support its plans and is currently not considering a separate listing.
With the restructuring of business units, Ford’s top management has also undergone significant personnel changes. Ford CEO, James Farley will prioritize the electric vehicle business and will also serve as the President of Model e. Ford’s North American President, Kumar Galhotra, will become the President of Ford Blue and be responsible for the gasoline vehicle business.The former European CEO of Ford, Stuart Rowley, will serve as the Chief Transformation and Quality Officer for Model e, as mentioned earlier.
Doug Field, former Chief Advanced Technology and Embedded Systems Officer at Ford, will serve as the Chief Electric Vehicle and Digital Product Officer for Model e.
It is worth noting that compared to the aforementioned Ford veterans, Field has not been with Ford for long and only joined in September 2021.
However, Field has been deeply involved in the smart electric vehicle industry for many years, with experience in electric vehicle development. He used to work for Apple and was Vice President of Apple’s Project Titan, serving as the project’s actual chief engineer.
In addition, Field also served as Senior Vice President of Engineering at Tesla, leading the development of Model 3.
After splitting its fuel vehicle and electric vehicle businesses, Ford also announced an electrification transformation timetable.
Under the plan, Ford aims to achieve an annual production of more than 2 million electric vehicles by 2026, accounting for one-third of global sales. By 2030, it plans to increase electric vehicle sales to 50% of its global sales, higher than the previous target of 40%.
In terms of profitability, Ford has raised its profit forecast and operating profit margin, planning to increase operating profit margin from 8% to 10% by 2026.
To achieve this goal, Ford stated that it will use compressed production costs as a starting point and cut $3 billion from structural costs, mainly targeting the fuel vehicle business.
Overview of Ford’s Electric Vehicle Business
Currently, Ford has 8 new energy models on sale or soon to be delivered.
Among them, 3 of them are pure electric models, which are the Ford Mustang Mach-E (commonly referred to as the Ford Evos in China), the electric version of the classic pickup truck F-150 – F-150 Lightning, and the commercial vehicle E-Transit.
The Mustang Mach-E has already started deliveries.
In terms of sales, Ford sold a total of 64,262 new energy vehicles in 2021, accounting for 3.4% of its total sales last year, according to official data.In the North American market, the Ford Mustang Mach-E became a popular model with sales of 27,000 units in the first year it was released. It ranked third on the 2021 US electric vehicle sales chart. Recently, it was also named the most popular model in the US for 2022 by the authoritative American consumer magazine “Consumer Reports”.
At the same time, Ford is also generous in terms of funding. The official disclosed that it will invest $50 billion (approximately RMB 315.9 billion) in the electric vehicle business in the next 5 years, while Ford’s previous budget was $30 billion (approximately RMB 189.5 billion).
While investing heavily to develop popular new models, the century-old car manufacturer is also showing a conservative side in its transformation towards electrification. The popular Mustang Mach-E in the US has shown lukewarm performance in the domestic market, with only 352 deliveries in January last year. Although the official explanation was that the slow sales were due to an unstable battery supply chain, it has been criticized by the outside world as being too conservative.
Regarding the decision to separate the electric vehicle business from the traditional fuel vehicle business, Ford has been hesitant and vacillating over the past month. As early as February, foreign media Bloomberg reported that Ford was going to separate the electric vehicle business and even rumors that the electric vehicle business would be independently listed. However, Jim Farley, Ford’s CEO, denied the rumor of separating the electric vehicle business just a week later. Soon after, the official confirmed the separation of the electric vehicle business.
Despite the frequent changes in the official attitude in a short period of time, Jim Farley also emphasized that separating the electric vehicle business does not mean Ford is giving up on traditional fuel vehicles. He said that Ford has not given up on internal combustion engines and will invest in them.
So why is Ford hesitating and being conservative in the transition to electrification while emphasizing continued investment in internal combustion engines? The answer may lie in the remarks of Ford CEO Jim Farley:>We want to beat the old players, we want to beat the new players.
We strive to defeat both the old and new players.
While the internal combustion engine confronts the old players, electric vehicles, of course, are intended to take on the “new players” – as Jim Farley explicitly states:
It is none other than Tesla and NIO.
So do you think that Ford, with its traditional expertise, can outperform these two innovative carmakers on the electric racing track?
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This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.