Chinese electricization process in China: Ford’s local electrification strategy

Written by: Chaoxian Zhou

Edited by: Xin Yu

“Wake up early, catch up with the late market.” This popular Chinese proverb seems to be an apt description of Ford’s electrification process in China.

Finally, under the influence and enticement of domestic autonomous car enterprises, Ford’s local electrification strategy in the Chinese market has taken a substantial step forward.

On September 26th, Ford officially announced the launch of Ford Motor Company’s electric Mach technology in China, which will focus deeply on the development and operation of intelligent electric vehicles in the Chinese market.

According to AutocarMax, Ford Electric Mach Technology’s appearance is not only a landmark event for Ford’s accelerated electrification process in China but also a new upgrade for Ford’s “Ford China 2.0 ” plan in the era of intelligent electrification.

In fact, Ford China’s move can be understood as the transmission and implementation of Ford’s strategic adjustments from its headquarters in the US to the Chinese market.

In March of this year, Ford officially announced the division of its automotive business department, establishing electric and fuel vehicle business units Ford Model e and Ford Blue, respectively, along with Ford Pro, responsible for commercial vehicle business, to form three new business units. These three units will operate independently while complementing each other, releasing more potential for the Ford+ plan, promoting business growth and creating value globally.

Among them, Ford Model e will become the core innovation and business growth of Ford’s future. This business unit will accelerate innovation, launch more industry-breaking electric vehicle products and form global economies of scale. Additionally, it will be responsible for developing software, intelligent connected technology, and related services for Ford cars.

Therefore, it appears that Ford Electric Mach Technology, which focuses deeply on the development and operation of intelligent electric vehicles in the Chinese market, is a strategic extension and critical layout of the Ford Model e business unit in China.

It is worth mentioning that Ford Electric Mach Technology is the first independent entity established by foreign automobile brands specifically focused on the research and operation of intelligent electric vehicles in China. This fully demonstrates Ford’s determination to accelerate the development of the electric vehicle business in China.

Ford Electric Mach Technology appears out of nowhere

“Ford Electric Mach Technology is a brand new starting point for us in China, and it is also a source of driving force for attracting local talent and an incubator for arousing disruptive innovation,” said Chenanning, CEO and President of Ford China, using the three keywords “brand new starting point,” “driving force,” and “incubator” to signify its accurate positioning and express its earnest hopes.He believes that as an independently operated company, Electric Mach Technology Co., Ltd. can better attract and mobilize China’s leading enterprises and outstanding talents in the intelligent electric vehicle industry, and overlay various advantageous resources for collaborative development.

In terms of operation philosophy, Electric Mach Technology Co., Ltd. will build a flat organizational structure with two core concepts, “customer-centered” and “data-driven,” to maximize team decision-making and collaboration efficiency in the era of intelligent electric vehicles. With the entrepreneurial posture of “thick accumulation and thin hair,” it can respond to the fierce competition in the Chinese market.

“Whether globally or in China, Ford has already accumulated considerable technical strength and resources in the fields of electrification and intelligence,” Chen Anning said. Through Ford Electric Mach Technology, “We will efficiently transform these accumulations into customer value and create electric products and services that cater to Chinese customer needs, helping Ford move towards the fast lane of intelligent electric vehicles.”

In terms of research and development, Ford Electric Mach Technology Co., Ltd. will deeply focus on intelligent and electric vehicle-related technologies and build a comprehensive R&D system based on three major centers: Electrification Center, Digital Experience Center, and Advanced Driver Assistance Center.

The Electrification Center covers all key areas of electrification, including battery development, battery packaging integration, motor and controller development, and 800V charging technology. It also has a series of advanced experimental and validation facilities, including power battery laboratories, drive motor laboratories, and battery sample pack workshops.

The Digital Experience Center will focus on building advanced intelligent cockpits and mobile Internet solutions around the needs of Chinese users. Based on leading platforms and rich OTA software upgrade services, the digital product development and operation team will conduct forward-looking user research, user experience transformation, and integration of the car, mobile, and cloud products to provide users with constantly new personalized digital experiences. Ford is also the first car company to produce and apply C-V2X vehicle-to-road cooperative systems on a large scale in the industry. It has been implemented in four major cities and will further expand its coverage, and all six Ford brand models are equipped with this technology as standard.

The Advanced Driver Assistance Center will fully leverage the advantages of Ford’s global BlueOval intelligent technology stack resources, and cooperates with a series of leading domestic enterprises to develop China’s roads and traffic environments, accelerating the deployment and iteration of Ford’s new generation of BlueCruise intelligent driving assistance system in China.In terms of operation, Ford New Energy Vehicle Technology Co., Ltd. will further accelerate the implementation of the “Ford China 2.0” plan and achieve rapid development and upgrading in the three major areas of electrification, intelligence, and customer experience.

In the future, Ford New Energy Vehicle Technology Co., Ltd. will establish close cooperation with Ford’s global Ford Model e business unit, give full play to Ford’s advantages in design, research and development, engineering and manufacturing, and rely on the scale effect and industrial layout brought by Ford’s global operations to achieve the great vision of “More Ford”.

At the same time, thanks to the development advantages of the world’s largest new energy vehicle market demand, Ford will use Ford New Energy Vehicle Technology Co., Ltd. as a pioneer carrier, establish partnerships with many leading forces in China’s new energy vehicle industry, and build “More China” electric products and services that meet the needs of the Chinese market and consumers.

At a later media communication meeting, Chen Anning emphasized that “we are soberly aware that Ford New Energy Vehicle Technology Co., Ltd. is a technology research and development platform, not an e-commerce platform or a technology platform.”

He said that Ford New Energy Vehicle Technology Co., Ltd.’s task is not simply to localize the global products of Ford’s electrification field by “simply changing a few lines of code,” but to deepen the technologies that meet the characteristics of the Chinese market based on Ford’s global technical accumulation.

For this new company, we interviewed Chen Anning about its capital planning and management structure.

According to the industrial and commercial registration information, Ford New Energy Vehicle Technology (Nanjing) Co., Ltd. was registered on April 29, 2020, formerly known as Ford Blue Mach Technology (Nanjing) Co., Ltd. Currently, Ford New Energy Vehicle Technology Co., Ltd. has two shareholders, Ford Technology and Nanjing Jiangning Economic and Technological Development Zone Information, with a share ratio of about 81:19.

There are rumors that CATL is interested in participating in the equity of Ford New Energy Vehicle Technology Co., Ltd but Chen Anning did not respond positively.

He said that Ford Global has announced strategic cooperation with CATL a few months ago. The cooperation is practical, deep, and broad, involving China and the United States. For example, in terms of depth, there is cooperation on current battery technology and future battery technology,

When asked if he would also serve as the CEO of Ford New Energy Vehicle Technology Co., Ltd., Chen Anning joked, “If I am lucky enough to serve in the future, I may consider it.” He added, “I hope there will be younger, more capable, and more suitable people for electric vehicles to be in charge. No relevant information has been officially announced yet.”

As for why the company name has been changed from Blue Mach to New Energy Vehicle Technology, Chen Anning said that it is not important. In fact, in the view of “Car People’s Club/AutocarMax,” this is at least related to the electrified products of Ford’s legendary sports car Mustang, the Ford electric Mustang.## Ford Mustang Mach-E’s new product positioning

Interestingly, on the same day, the Ford Mustang Mach-E also ushered in new changes.

Since its launch in China, the Ford Mustang Mach-E has had at least two problems:

Firstly, it has a slow pace. It was launched in April 2021, and the first mass-produced cars were offline in October, only achieving deliveries by the end of December.

Secondly, the sales network layout is too slow and too little.

Thirdly, the design is not localized enough and is difficult to be accepted by a wider range of Chinese consumers. For example, the angle of the central control screen is too vertical. In order to see the screen clearly, the driver’s sitting posture must be leaned back. Moreover, the knob at the bottom of the central control screen has no function other than adjusting the volume. In fact, in the American domestic market, this knob has other functions, such as controlling the car’s game.

The aforementioned problems combined resulted in poor sales of the Ford Mustang Mach-E, which is rarely seen on the road regardless of the size of the city. According to sales data released by the China Passenger Car Association, the sales volume in recent months in 2022 is all in the three-digit range, which is incomparable to the prosperity of the Ford Mustang Mach-E in the American market.

Whether as Ford’s first electric product or the electric incarnation of the legendary sports car Mustang, the Ford Mustang Mach-E should not have this performance. This is precisely the reason why Ford Mustang Mach-E announced a new product positioning.

On September 26th, at the “Legendary Electric Racehorse That You Don’t Know About” Ford Mustang Mach-E day in Shanghai, Ford Mustang Mach-E announced that the new product positioning is “Legendary Electric Running SUV.”

Ford mentioned that the new product positioning will highlight the ultimate driving pleasure of the Ford Mustang Mach-E, continuously leading the development of electric technology, perfectly inheriting the iconic design elements and classic sports car design concepts of the Mustang, and continuously evolving.

The so-called “legendary” refers to the unique iconic design elements and classic sports car design concepts of the Mustang family that the Ford Mustang Mach-E inherits.

For example, the front face continues the shark nose design, combined with a slender and powerful front hood, forming a unique visual focus. The sleek curve slides backward from above the steep A-pillar, outlining a sports car-like dynamic body. The three-pillar taillights adopt the classic design inherited from the Mustang family line, and with the response of the widened rear wheel arch, a broad and powerful full tail is presented.The so-called “electric” refers to Ford’s electric Mustang, which applies the latest global electric-only platform and introduces innovative electric elements such as E-Latch electronic door locks and an inductive Pony car logo. The interior is equipped with the all-new SYNC+ 2.0 intelligent connected system which features a maximum 15.5-inch control screen, the largest in its class.

In addition, Ford’s electric Mustang has standard front-mounted intelligent driving assistance hardware for the entire series, which includes over 20 intelligent driving assist functions in the Ford Co-Pilot360 professional package of L2 level. With the support of the FNV electronic and electrical architecture, the electric Mustang can also achieve full-car OTA upgrades.

For battery development, the electric Mustang has undergone multiple rigorous tests from the design stage, from the battery cells and module packaging to whole-vehicle risk protection, combined with real-life usage scenarios, to ensure high-quality in the areas of battery cell quality, durability, waterproofing, and safety.

Ford’s electric Mustang CTO, Madhavchandra (M.) Menon, stated that the electric Mustang’s battery pack is Ford’s first globally-tested NCM chemical battery pack which has passed the thermal runaway experiment.

In terms of thermal runaway protection, the electric Mustang’s battery pack can achieve several tens of minutes before igniting or exploding, far exceeding national standards. The intelligent battery monitoring system, which applies Ford’s optimal algorithm, adopts multiple battery fault warning algorithms on the electric Mustang to provide early warning of potential battery and safety issues and can issue thermal runaway warnings in as little as 2 seconds.

Menon believes that the battery pack’s excellent performance depends on three important factors: first, a large amount of analysis in the early stages; second, 2-3 sets of different solutions prepared for different scenarios, and third, Ford’s strong testing capabilities.

Finally, as for the “run” label, as the first mass-produced model calibrated by the Ford Global Performance Car team using professional racing simulators, the Ford electric Mustang brings racetrack-level validation for a comprehensive, high-quality driving experience that is more stable and safe.

For example, the GT model has a maximum output of 359 kW and can achieve 0-100 km/h acceleration in 3.65 seconds. To meet users’ diverse needs for energy recovery and driving experience, Ford has created three different driving theme modes of Whisper, Engage, and Unbridled, combined with an independently controllable single-pedal mode switch, to customize a personalized driving experience.Regarding the issue of localization design, Chen Anning mentioned that in recent years, regardless of Lincoln brand products or new Mondeo and other products, the screens in China are completely different from those in the United States in terms of hardware and software. “So the answer is definitely yes. In the future, we will make corresponding adjustments according to Chinese habits at the appropriate time.”

Regarding the knob design on the center console screen, Menon gave a more specific answer. He believes that besides giving users a retro feeling, this design is also more convenient to operate, which allows drivers to focus more on driving, so many people like it. He revealed that “we are discussing how to apply this knob to more functions, and our team is already conducting corresponding research and upgrades.”

Some media pointed out that Mustang is a very legendary brand. Can Ford increase the spread of Mustang brand culture in China, so that Chinese consumers can turn their emotions into purchasing power like Americans do with Mustang?

Although Mustang has legendary status worldwide, Chen Anning believes that the needs and starting points of Chinese electric vehicle customers, especially young people, are definitely more than emotions. “Emotion is an important driving force, but I think the product itself and user experience are more important.” He stated that “we hope that customers feel that they can afford to use and buy, so we need to provide better services and experiences than others.”

In conclusion, “Ford’s global technological accumulation, investment intensity and depth, is actually our strength, not our weakness,” Chen Anning pointed out. It is reported that from 2022 to the end of 2026, Ford will invest more than 50 billion US dollars in global electrification business and innovative technology. It is estimated that by 2026, Ford’s global electric vehicle production capacity will exceed 2 million units, and the proportion of electric vehicle sales will reach 50% by 2030.

In terms of products, Ford has completed two rounds of development based on the latest electric-exclusive platform, forming a pure electric vehicle lineup composed of Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning, and E-Transit.

Currently, Ford has launched the high-end intelligent electric vehicle brand Ford Select in China, with an independent sales network for electric vehicles. 106 sales outlets have covered 43 cities nationwide, including 56 city showrooms. The first flagship store will also open in Shanghai at the end of the year.

The emergence of Ford Mustang Mach-E Technology Co., Ltd. coincides with the renewal of positioning of Ford Mustang electric products. On the one hand, it demonstrates Ford’s determination and steadfastness in the electrification strategy; on the other hand, it reflects the implementation and upgrading of the “Ford China 2.0” plan.

There is no doubt that in the context of Ford’s global acceleration of strategic transformation and strengthening of the electric vehicle business, Ford’s local electrification strategy in China has been actively promoted, and Ford Mustang Mach-E Technology Co., Ltd. is an essential part of it.

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.