Ford Market News

[kscarbel2]

2 hours ago, RoadwayR said:

I think the 'other' Bronco (to be named Maverick?) is going to be a compact CUV type vehicle, like the Jeep Renegade.  It should do well, riding on the image and styling of the big Bronco with a much lower price.  

The Ford Escape was produced in Taiwan and sold in Asian markets under the Maverick badge.

[kscarbel2]

Ford’s New COO Gets Almost $2 Million Raise to Spur Turnaround

Keith Naughton, Bloomberg  /  February 18, 2020

Ford Motor Co.’s new chief operating officer, Jim Farley, is getting a raise worth almost $2 million to help engineer a turnaround at the struggling automaker.

Farley, previously Ford’s president of new business, technology and strategy, is to receive as much as $1.98 million in extra salary, bonus and stock in his new role, the company said Tuesday in a regulatory filing. Most of the increase in his compensation plan, which will total $8.29 million, is a boost to his annual stock grant.

The 57-year-old’s promotion takes effect March 1 along with the retirement of his primary rival at the company, Joe Hinrichs, 53. The moves were announced earlier this month.

Ford has been on a losing streak extended by the botched launch of the Explorer sport utility vehicle, which contributed to disappointing earnings results and a downbeat profit forecast for this year. Farley is now in position to eventually succeed Chief Executive Officer Jim Hackett, but first he has to help him execute an $11 billion restructuring that analysts say is moving too slowly.

“We cannot wait years and years,” Farley said in an interview on the day he was named COO. “In the context of our industry and how it’s changing, we have to accelerate.”

[Hayseed]

On 2/17/2020 at 4:12 PM, kscarbel2 said:

The Ford Escape was produced in Taiwan and sold in Asian markets under the Maverick badge.

At one stage (back in the 90s) Ford sold a rebadged Nissan Patrol here as a Ford Maverick..

 

[kscarbel2]

2021 Ford F-150 design cues exposed in spy photos

Michael Martinez, Automotive News  /  February 20, 2020

Spy photographers have captured the best look yet at the redesigned Ford F-150.

The next-generation pickup, due out later this year as a 2021 model, was spotted this week in light camouflage near the automaker's Dearborn, Mich., headquarters.

The crew cab caught undergoing road testing features what appears to be more stacked headlights, more horizontal fog lamps and a grille that closely mimics the midsize Ranger pickup. The F-150 also appears to have a more raised hood than the current model.

The interior of the vehicle is expected to undergo a more radical overhaul with at least a 12-inch touch screen, following the success of a similar-sized screen in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' recently redesigned Ram pickup.

Ford is planning a hybrid model that's expected to debut this year, as well as a battery-electric version expected out in 2021.

A smooth launch is critical for Ford. The F-Series line of pickups, of which F-150 is a part, has been the bestselling vehicle line in the U.S. for 38 straight years, and the bestselling pickup line for 43 straight years.

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[kscarbel2]

It appears as though Ford had some of the Ram designers come over and help.

[Dirtymilkman]

Ram looks like an older gmc and ford went to the Chevy style "bar grill"

[Bullheaded]

I saw those, and was kind of relieved they didn't change it much, because I think the current F150 is the best looking one since 1979.

I was also relieved to see this rear view and see that it still has a solid rear axle. Hopefully they keep the new independent rear suspension for just the upscale yuppie grocery getter models. Because when the day comes I gotta take a truck with independent rear suspension that will be the day I keep what I have and not buy any new ones.

I already am constantly replacing front control arms and bushings on my cars, due to our crappy roads, don't need to do that on my truck.

[Maxidyne]

Hopefully Ford will stick with the aluminum body, makes a world of difference here in the rust belt. As for IRS, one benefit would be that they could lower the bed a couple inches. Not that anybody ever hauls anything with pickups...

[Bullheaded]

3 hours ago, Maxidyne said:

Hopefully Ford will stick with the aluminum body, makes a world of difference here in the rust belt. As for IRS, one benefit would be that they could lower the bed a couple inches. Not that anybody ever hauls anything with pickups...

Yes, being more resistant to rust is good. They just need to work on the repair and replacement costs of those aluminum bodies. My insurance agent told me they don't even fix these new F150's. The cost of repair is so high they just write them off. Dent your outer box side? Over six thousand Canadian dollars for a box side.

I see so many of them with damaged tail gates. People don't even replace them, they just leave them bent and dented, LOL

[RoadwayR]

6 hours ago, Maxidyne said:

Hopefully Ford will stick with the aluminum body, makes a world of difference here in the rust belt. As for IRS, one benefit would be that they could lower the bed a couple inches. Not that anybody ever hauls anything with pickups...

At the very least the Ford ought to look better after 10 years, but I think frame rot takes out more F-150's than body rust.  I have heard about a very few instances of aluminum oxidation causing the paint to come off Ford pickups, and the only fix seems to be replacement of the affected panels.  I know this has been an issue with Mustang hoods and Expedition tailgates.    

[kscarbel2]

Rejected by Wall Street, Ford’s CEO Has Support Where It Matters

Keith Naughton, Bloomberg  /  February 25, 2020

Days after another dismal earnings report, Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive Officer Jim Hackett sent a blunt message during an internal town hall: I’m not going anywhere.

If there were any doubts in the crowd about that statement, Hackett underscored it by discussing the early retirement of Joe Hinrichs, a Ford president whom many had seen as a potential successor to the CEO. The comment was a surprising display of force from a man who had just overseen another disappointing quarter that deepened the sell-off in Ford stock during his almost three-year tenure. The reason for such confidence: Hackett, 64, retains the backing of Executive Chairman Bill Ford.

While Wall Street has never really warmed to him, Hackett has managed to nurture a close relationship with the 62-year-old great-grandson of founder Henry Ford through frequent visits to each other’s offices, where they mind meld on a digitized future of transportation in which big data drives how automakers create self-driving and electric cars. The two are inseparable, say people familiar with their relationship, who asked not to be identified describing Ford’s inner workings.

“Harmony in businesses is a good story,” Hackett said with a chuckle during a phone interview Monday. “And it doesn’t burst out of lack of accountability at all. It’s more, frankly, of a shared view of how much work we have in front of us to transform the company to be really viable for another 50-plus years.”

The elevation of Ford’s other president, Jim Farley, to COO, and the departure of Hinrichs, 53, has rocked a company struggling to find its way in an industry undergoing wrenching change. Hinrichs’s abrupt exit completes a clean break from the era of Alan Mulally, who was celebrated for keeping the carmaker out of bankruptcy during the Great Recession. Mulally was close to Hinrichs and believed he should have succeeded him as CEO when he retired in 2014, people familiar with his thinking said. Mulally declined to comment.

Farley’s Ascent

Farley, 57, will brief investors Wednesday on how he intends to speed up Ford’s turnaround and perk up the stock price, which tumbled to the lowest in over a decade on Monday.

The hard-driving marketing mastermind -- and cousin of the late comedian Chris Farley -- is embracing the new role with his signature intensity. Jim Farley is working late into the evenings and on weekends, reviewing all of the company’s plans, say people familiar with his actions. Known as a quick study with an encyclopedic memory for data and details, he doesn’t suffer fools.

“In the context of our industry and how it’s changing, we have to accelerate,” he said in a Feb. 7 interview. “We cannot wait years and years.”

While Hackett says he has absolutely given Farley a mandate to accelerate, he also defends the deliberate approach he and Bill Ford are taking and says it’s rooted in a company still run by the founding family, which takes a long-term view.

“Others will say, well, why has it taken so long? Or why are you contemplating this so rigorously? It’s because we’re balancing the needs of shareholders versus employees, suppliers, dealers,” Hackett said. “We’re not willing to lose the hearts and minds of our people to have one quarter exceed earnings.”

Hinrichs’s Stumble

Farley and Hinrichs were elevated less than a year ago to be company presidents, with Farley focused on the future and Hinrichs on managing the automotive here-and-now.

Within months of taking on their roles, Farley won plaudits for leading Ford’s talks with Volkswagen AG that lead to a tie-up last summer to jointly develop the driverless and electric cars that Bill Ford and Hackett are so excited about. Participants on all sides of that deal, which also involved self-driving startup Argo AI, praise Farley’s mastery of the materials and his negotiating skills that helped keep the talks on track.

Fans of Farley say Hinrichs was meanwhile moving too slowly to fix what ails Ford. They point to the botched launch of the new Explorer sport utility vehicle last year that weakened North American earnings for a company that isn’t consistently making money elsewhere in the world.

When Hinrichs dispatched a vice president last year to investigate problems at Ford’s Explorer plant in Chicago, some subordinates didn’t even show up for meetings to discuss the situation, said a person familiar with the visit. For a high-ranking executive to be disrespected like that was seen as evidence that Hinrichs didn’t have full control of the situation at the plant, the person said. Hinrichs declined to comment.

The Explorer launch failures undercut Hinrichs’s reputation as a manufacturing whiz. He rose to prominence under Mulally, a fellow engineer, and won kudos for successfully overseeing the complicated launch of the aluminum-bodied F-150 six years ago. In 2018, he played a pivotal role in getting those profitable pickups rolling off assembly lines again after a supplier’s factory exploded and briefly disrupted truck production in 2018.

Mulally’s Legacy

Mulally’s legacy has grown complicated within Ford, with the company moving away from some of his rigorous practices that encouraged executives to admit mistakes and seek help fixing them, rather than let them fester. Mulally also bet heavily on small, fuel-efficient cars, which fell out of favor as gas prices abated. Hackett is pulling Ford out of the sedan market.

And the focus on Mulally as Ford’s savior is said to have irked Bill Ford, who also played a key role in securing a life-saving loan that sustained the company through the downturn that wiped out the rest of Detroit.

Hinrichs is seen as Mulally’s last acolyte in Ford’s upper management.

“Ford is now, with the departure of Joe Hinrichs, back to where it was when everything started falling apart last time,” said Bryce Hoffman, author of “American Icon: Alan Mulally and the Fight to Save Ford Motor Company,” published in 2012. “But now it’s in that position in a much more competitive marketplace and in a much more challenging business environment.”

Hackett denies that there is any reconsideration of the Mulally era within Ford.

“I’ve never heard anything but praise for Alan Mulally. He’s really highly regarded by me, by the board, by Bill,” Hackett said. “We spend zero time and stress about that.”

Bill Ford’s Silence

Bill Ford hasn’t made any public appearances early this year as Ford shares have dipped back below $8 for the first time January 2019. That month, he endorsed his embattled CEO at the Detroit auto show and appealed for patience with Hackett and his $11 billion turnaround plan. He declined an interview requested though a company spokesman.

Now that Farley has taken over Hinrichs’s duties, he is moving quickly to light a fire under his team. Farley is conducting meetings with Ford’s entire top leadership, and more executive changes are expected.

Those changes won’t include Hackett, despite some on Wall Street having openly questioned how long his tenure will last. With the executive chairman’s backing, Hackett will keep Farley waiting for an untold period to prove he’s the right pick to take over.

But Farley is clearly in ascent. Even the trait once viewed as his biggest weakness -- his hair-trigger temper -- is now being recast as just the skill needed to effect change in Ford’s hidebound culture.

“He’s pretty intense,” David Whiston, an analyst for Morningstar with the equivalent of a buy rating on Ford shares, said of Farley. “I’m glad Ford has him.”

[RoadwayR]

Hackett continues to mesmerize Bill Ford Jr.  I guess at the end of the day that's all that matters, at least until the money runs out.

[kscarbel2]

Farley says Ford faces sense of urgency similar to financial crisis

Michael Martinez, Automotive News  /  February 26, 2020

A decade ago, Ford Motor Co. was fighting to remain solvent amid a financial crisis that bankrupted two of its crosstown rivals.

Incoming COO Jim Farley says Ford faces a similar sense of urgency today to fix a sputtering business plagued by high warranty costs and launch issues.

Speaking Wednesday at a Wolfe Research automotive conference in New York, Farley said his priorities in the new role he takes on March 1 include connectivity, Ford's commercial-vehicles business and opportunities with electric and autonomous vehicles.

With Ford's stock trading at a 10-year low, Farley said the company has to "reawaken the purpose of our work" and "accelerate the sense of urgency" among its leaders.

"The only way to change the sense of urgency is to change the way you work," Farley said. "More agile, all-in, together."

Farley listed four key areas Ford needs to improve: warranty costs, which he said hit $5 billion last year; launch performance; material, logistics and labor costs; and sales and marketing.

The automaker will have ample opportunity this year with the introduction of high-volume products including a redesigned F-150, the Bronco SUV, the Bronco Sport crossover and the Mustang Mach-E electric crossover.

"We're at the moment in time at Ford where delivery matters," Farley said. "It is execution. I can't handicap that right now because it's something you have to just go do."

Aside from the new products, Farley said one of his priorities is continuing Ford's quest to add connected modems in all of its vehicles. Connectivity, he said, could lead to new profit streams and business opportunities, especially with commercial vehicles.

In Europe, Ford's truck and van sales rose 21 percent last year. Its U.S. fleet truck and van sales jumped 33 percent.

The automaker has implemented telematics services for fleet businesses that helps owners better maintain their vehicles, but Farley sees room for growth.

"For me, this is the signature execution opportunity for Ford, and growth opportunity for Ford, in the coming years," he said.

Farley also stressed the need for Ford to hire new, tech-focused talent to think and work in new ways, similar to what its Team Edison did in quickly developing the Mach-E under a condensed time frame.

"Software's a different business," he said. "We have some great people at Ford, but we need more dedicated teams like Team Edison. I think that will change the culture."

[kscarbel2]

Ford Takes Its Electric Scooter Company for a Spin Outside U.S.

Edward Ludlow, Bloomberg  /  February 26, 2020

Spin, the scooter-sharing service owned by Ford Motor Co., is expanding to new markets outside of the U.S.

The company will launch its first international fleet of electric scooters in Cologne, Germany, as soon as the spring, according to a statement. It will start with several hundred scooters and plans to increase the number quickly, though pricing hasn’t been decided. Spin also will apply in Paris for a scooter-sharing permit next month.

“Since we started Spin it’s been about deliberate growth, understanding the markets, understanding the path to profitability before we expand.” Spin Chief Executive Officer Derrick Ko said in an interview. “Germany has both the infrastructure and regulations to support that.”

Ford, which acquired Spin in 2018 for an untold sum, has helped the scooter company engage with city governments and understand the environment in markets it wants to enter, Spin’s President Euwyn Poon said in a separate interview. Germany legalized the use of scooters on roads and bicycle paths in May, spurring a race among European and U.S. startups to roll out products in Europe’s biggest economy.

Other companies including Alphabet Inc.-backed Lime are eying growth in Europe, primarily because policy makers there are starting to restrict car use, according to David Spielfogel, Lime’s chief policy officer.

Spin is also exploring private partnerships in the U.K. and plans to participate in pilot programs in cities across the country. While Spin has grown since Ford’s acquisition, it has yet to achieve profitability, according to Poon, who’s trying to get there this year.

“The biggest risk is that cities don’t see us as their partner but see us as antagonists,” Ko said. “We are not here to screw you over, we are here to work with you.”

Founded in San Francisco in 2016, Spin has grown to more than 600 employees and is operational in 70 different markets across the U.S., including San Francisco, Chicago and Washington. It also operates on the campuses of 25 schools including the University of Texas and Virginia Tech.

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[TS7]

I wonder if Bill and Jim rode there scooters to work in Dearborn today (20 deg.)? Mary was in her electric Hummer I am sure.  

[kscarbel2]

Ford Announces 2022 Transit Electric Van for U.S.

Connor Hoffman, Car & Driver  /  March 3, 2020

• Ford has announced that it will add an electric Transit van to its lineup for the 2022 model year.
• The van comes with access to the FordPass Charging Network, the largest public network in the country.
• The electric van can be had in a variety of options including cargo van, cutaway, chassis cab, and with three roof heights and three body lengths.

Ford is adding an electric model to the Transit cargo van lineup in the U.S. and Canada for the 2022 model year.

Ford says that the electric Transit, which will be built in the United States, will help companies achieve their sustainability goals. Like the Mustang Mach-E, the electric Transit will come with access to the FordPass Charging Network. As of now, it's the largest public network in the country, featuring 35,000 plugs at 12,500 charging stations in the U.S. and parts of Canada.

The electric Transit will come equipped with a FordPass Connect modem featuring a 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot that can record driver data for the van's managers. They can do GPS tracking, geofencing, and vehicle diagnostics. Additionally, the electric vans come standard with pre-collision assist with automated emergency braking plus pedestrian detection, forward collision warning, post-collision braking, lane-keeping system, and auto high-beam headlamps.

Customers can choose from a variety of configurations with the electric Transit, including cargo van, cutaway, and chassis cab, with three roof heights and three body lengths. Pricing, photos, and other details haven't been announced yet.

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[RoadwayR]

On 2/27/2020 at 6:50 AM, TS7 said:

I wonder if Bill and Jim rode there scooters to work in Dearborn today (20 deg.)? Mary was in her electric Hummer I am sure.  

No doubt.  Just ask yourself what has a higher margin, a $100,000 electric pickup or a rented scooter.......

BTW, I hear the electric Transit will be built at Avon Lake.  

 

Edited March 4, 2020 by RoadwayR

[TS7]

I am sure GM will sell every electric Hummer they build and the taxpayers will help pay for it.  I am not against electric anything, just make the buyer pay for it, no tax breaks, no free charging, pay there fair share of road use tax too.  

[Red Horse]

1 hour ago, TS7 said:

I am sure GM will sell every electric Hummer they build and the taxpayers will help pay for it.  I am not against electric anything, just make the buyer pay for it, no tax breaks, no free charging, pay there fair share of road use tax too.  

For sure.  That is what sucks about this whole electrification craze.  Instead  of it happening on its own and letting the market work it out, we  are forced to subsidize a political agenda.

[Rob]

59 minutes ago, Red Horse said:

For sure.  That is what sucks about this whole electrification craze.  Instead  of it happening on its own and letting the market work it out, we  are forced to subsidize a political agenda.

Yup. Illinois done seen the loss of revenue from fuel taxes on electric cars so tripled the annual licensing cost and branded them with an "EL" at the end of the plate.

[kscarbel2]

 

[kscarbel2]

 

[kscarbel2]

Ford plans sweeping dealer closures in Europe to accelerate rebound

Nick Gibbs, Automotive News  /  November 12, 2020

Ford's plan to shrink its European retail network to help the unit return to profit in the region will result in deep cuts to its dealers, particularly in the U.K.

Ford of Europe President Stuart Rowley declined to say how many dealers will be slashed. “It will be appropriate for the market,” he told Automotive News Europe.

Up to 180 of the 400 dealers in the U.K., Ford's biggest market in Europe, are at risk of closure.

Cutting the number of dealers will improve profitability at Ford, Rowley said. “There is obviously a lot of cost wrapped up in the distribution network and that ends up in the price of the vehicle or coming out of profit,” he said. “We want to make the network more efficient.”

He also believes the reduction will help Ford’s retailers. “Our dealers are private investors who expect a return on that capital,” Rowley said.

The overhaul of Ford’s European distribution network will include an accelerated shift toward online sales in reaction to changes in consumer demand.

“The retail world is changing,” Rowley said. “We think over time we will have fewer [dealer] owners and fewer physical sites.”

The roll out of Ford's online sales system in Europe will coincide with the launch of the Mustang Mach-E electric crossover, which arrives later this year.

“All of us now expect to transact much more online,” Rowley said. “Customers want to be able to order their vehicle online. They want to pay for it online. They want a single interface.”

Ford said that 90 percent of the U.K. population would still be able to reach one of its dealerships by car in 30 minutes after the reduction.

Ford is looking to switch some dealerships to service-only centers as part of the European network overhaul, Rowley said. The automaker is also looking to focus more on dealers that specialize in selling the brand’s successful family of Transit commercial vehicles with an emphasis on servicing.

“This is effectively somebody's business and livelihood. So our objective is to have them on the road faster,” Rowley said.

The new Transit centers wouldn’t have to follow the location strategy as car dealers. “They don't necessarily need to be a nice glass box in that certain part of town,” Rowley said. “They may need more space because they might want to have a much more complex product offer.”

[kscarbel2]

Britain asks Ford to produce lifesaving hospital ventilators

Reuters  /  March 16, 2020

Britain has asked Ford Motor Company to help make health equipment including hospital ventilators to cope with the coronavirus outbreak.

Ford said it was assessing the situation. The U.S. automaker operates two engine factories in Britain, which made just under 1.1 million engines in 2019. One of the two sites, in Bridgend in Wales, is due to close this year.

It was not immediately clear how a manufacturer of cars could turn to producing specialist medical equipment, which international parts would be needed or what certification would be required.

One option could be to adopt defense industry rules which can be used to order certain factories to follow a design to produce a required product quickly. British industry has the capability to do that but is unlikely to make the electronic components that would also be required.

Robert Harrison, professor of automation systems at the University of Warwick in central England, said it would be a significant task, perhaps taking many months, for engineering companies to manufacture ventilators.

"They would have to tool up production lines and train workers to assemble and test the product," he said.

Sourcing the parts, for example, electronics, valves and air-turbines, quickly could be difficult, Harrison said.

The ventilators are sophisticated devices. "It is crucial that they work correctly in order to keep the patient alive, as these are life-critical pieces of equipment," he said.

Different approach

Many countries are trying to buy ventilators, used to keep people with coronavirus alive if they struggle to breathe.

Britain, which has reported 35 coronavirus deaths and 1,372 cases, has taken a different approach to some European countries that have imposed stringent lockdowns to try to slow the spread of the disease.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will speak to manufacturers to seek support for the production of "essential medical equipment” for the National Health Service, a spokesman for his Downing Street office said.

"He will stress the vital role of Britain's manufacturers in preparing the country for a significant spread of coronavirus and call on them to step up and support the nationwide effort to fight the virus," the spokesman said.

[TS7]

As you read this Ford has a scooter plant in Red China being re-tooled to build parts for them now. What could go wrong.