Ford Market News

[DailyDiesel]

I'm sure attorneys for both sides are already busy billing hours. 😂

[kscarbel2]

Ford's $500M investment in Rivian to yield new electric vehicle

Michael Martinez, Automotive News  /  April 24, 2019

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co., in another move to shore up its electrification efforts, on Wednesday said it was investing $500 million in electric vehicle startup Rivian and plans to build a battery EV using Rivian's flexible skateboard platform.

The move comes weeks after talks between Rivian and General Motors reportedly broke down. GM reportedly was interested in becoming an equity investor in Rivian, much like Amazon, which invested $700 million in the startup in February.

For Ford, the deal secures another ally to manage costs and development in a hyper-competitive space where it has so far lagged behind much of the competition. While rivals including GM and Tesla have introduced battery-powered vehicles, Ford's first long-range battery EV -- a Mustang-inspired crossover -- won't hit showrooms until 2020. It's also planning a battery-powered F-150 pickup.

Ford is also in discussions with Volkswagen about sharing an EV platform. Ford CEO Jim Hackett on Wednesday said the Rivian investment "does not interfere" with any potential deal with VW. "This is a specific platform that helps us in an area we weren't considering with others," Hackett told reporters on a conference call.

Ford executives declined to say what type of vehicle the company would develop on Rivian's skateboard platform, where it would be built or when it would go on sale. They said it would not be one of the two battery EVs Ford has already announced. Hackett said the Rivian investment was in addition to Ford's $11 billion financial commitment to electrifying its lineup through 2022.

"Ford's investment in Rivian is a smart one," Michelle Krebs, executive analyst at Autotrader, said in a statement. "Rivian leverages Ford's leadership, expertise and massive volume in pickup trucks as well as its vast distribution network. The Amazon investment in the Rivian mix may well give Ford an in with the delivery services, possibly with electric cargo vans."

Rivian, which has shown concept versions of an electric pickup and SUV, will remain an independent company, and the investment is subject to regulatory approval. Joe Hinrichs, Ford's president of automotive, will join Rivian's seven-member board.

Rivian's founder and CEO, RJ Scaringe, said the startup plans a "broad portfolio" of vehicles on its skateboard architecture, some of which might directly compete with Ford's EVs. But he said vehicles it develops with Ford will be distinct, with Rivian focused on higher-priced performance models in the active lifestyle space.

"What we do with Ford will be different than that," Scaringe said.

Scaringe said Rivian could partner with other companies, although its current focus would be on building the relationships with its existing partners.

Hinrichs said the deal allows Ford to save money and speed up the arrival of its upcoming crossover EV, and he left open the possibility that the partnership could broaden beyond one vehicle, saying this was the "first of many pieces of news" he hoped both companies would share.

[kscarbel2]

Ford facing U.S. criminal probe into emissions testing

Bloomberg – Reuters  /  April 26, 2019

The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into Ford’s emissions certification process, the automaker disclosed two months after admitting to an issue with its testing.

Ford, the latest automaker to come under scrutiny for adherence to U.S. emissions standards, is fully cooperating with all government agencies, the automaker said Friday in a regulatory filing. The company said that because the matter is still at a preliminary stage, it can’t predict the outcome or assure investors it won’t have a material impact on the company.

Ford potentially faces significant financial penalties as regulators have taken a tough line on emissions issues.

Ford revealed in February that it had adopted a flawed approach to using road-load specifications to simulate how aerodynamic drag and tire friction can affect fuel economy outside testing labs. It has hired an outside outside law firm, Sidley Austin, and experts to help conduct an investigation that could stretch into the summer.

When Ford disclosed the issue in February, the automaker said “there’s been no determination that this affects Ford’s fuel economy labels or emissions certifications.”

The Justice Department notified the company of its investigation this month, Kim Pittel, Ford's group vice president of sustainability, environment and safety engineering, said in a statement. The Justice Department refused to comment on the Ford probe.

The investigation doesn’t involve the use of so-called “defeat devices” that VW was found to be using to game emissions testing, Pittel said.

Ford since last fall has been investigating concerns raised by employees that incorrect calculations were used to translate test results into the mileage and emissions data submitted to regulators.

Ford said in February it was evaluating changes to the process it uses to develop fuel economy and emissions figures, “including engineering, technical and governance components.”

Ford has held meetings with the California Air Resources Board and EPA officials and turned over documents related to its review. Ford has also submitted a testing plan that has been approved by regulators. The first vehicle Ford is evaluating is the 2019 Ranger pickup truck.

The EPA also refused to comment on the Ford investigation but Administrator Andrew Wheeler said earlier this month the agency had other enforcement actions against other automakers "in the works."

"When people are not playing by the rules and they are creating more pollution ... we will catch them, we will hold them accountable," Wheeler said.

Ford has been embarrassed in the past by errors with fuel economy claims. In 2013, the company cut by seven miles per gallon the claimed fuel economy on the C-Max hybrid following consumer complaints that real-world mileage did not match the claimed fuel economy. In 2014, Ford lowered fuel economy ratings for six other models and offered compensation to customers.

The latest probe makes Ford at least the fourth major automaker to fall under ederal investigation over emissions in the span of a few years. Volkswagen Group paid a $4.3 billion penalty in 2017 for misleading regulators and customers about diesel engines emissions. 

In January, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles agreed to an $800 million civil settlement to resolve claims by the Justice Department and the state of California that it used illegal software to produce false results on diesel-emissions tests. A Justice Department criminal investigation is pending.

U.S. regulators are also investigating Daimler for alleged excess emissions in Mercedes-Benz diesel vehicles, but the Justice Department and EPA have declined to comment on the status of the probe. Daimler also has declined to comment, but has previously acknowledged it faces investigations in Germany and the United States.

Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. in 2014 were hit with a $100 million civil penalty after selling roughly 1.2 million vehicles with inflated fuel economy ratings. The inaccurate ratings stemmed from faulty procedures used by the companies to calculate road-load forces.

[kscarbel2]

Ford Q1 net profit falls 34% on one-time charges; shares rise

Michael Martinez, Automotive News  /  April 25, 2019

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co.'s first-quarter net income fell 34 percent to $1.15 billion, on one-time charges, but the company said it was on track to generating better results in 2019 than it did last year as CEO Jim Hackett’s global reorganization starts to take root.

Ford’s earnings before interest and taxes in the latest quarter rose 12 percent to $2.45 billion, including a 14 percent gain in North America behind strong sales of trucks and SUVs, in what Hackett has dubbed “a year of action.”

Following the release of the company's first-quarter financial results, Ford shares surged above $10 for the first time since August. The shares rose 11 percent to close at $10.41 on Friday. 

“It was a good start, but we still have three quarters of the year to go,” Ford CFO Bob Shanks told reporters Thursday. “We’re happy, but our enthusiasm is well under control.”

The company's North American profit of $2.2 billion reflected a margin of 8.7 percent, 0.9 percentage points higher than in the first quarter of 2018.

The results were driven by a stronger mix of more profitable vehicles, including a strong quarter for F series and the North American launch of the Ranger midsize pickup in January.

Ford last year announced it was cutting sedans from its lineup. While analysts and investors remain skeptical, Hackett on Thursday said the company “doesn’t intend to lose any of these customers long term” and that the decision “was absolutely the right call.”

Shanks said the move, by the end of the year, would contribute positively to the tune of “hundreds of millions of dollars.”

Elsewhere in the world, results improved in China, the Middle East and Africa but declined in Europe, South America and the rest of Asia Pacific.

Globally, revenue fell 4 percent to $40.3 billion and profit margins declined 1.3 percentage points to 2.8 percent.

Ford attributed a majority of its $600 million decline in net income to one-time charges related to its global redesign, including exiting the heavy-truck market in South America and restructuring its operations in Europe.

It took a $24 million hit from ongoing layoffs of salaried employees in North America, a process Shanks said is “coming toward its end.”

Additional charges in the quarter included an $11 million hit for the closing of its Chariot ride-sharing program and a $67 million charge for ending U.S. production of the Focus.

Of the $11 billion in total charges Ford expects to book related to its global restructuring, Shanks said $3 billion to $3.5 billion will occur this year, including the nearly $500 million this quarter.

Ford Credit earned an $801 million profit, up 25 percent from a year ago and its best quarterly result since 2010.

Shanks said the first quarter will be the strongest of the year as Ford prepares for a slew of new model changeovers, including redesigns of the Escape and Explorer crossovers, later in the year.

“It’s the beginning of the game, not game over,” Shanks said. “We feel very encouraged by the start to the year.”

[TS7]

How many of these emissions testing problems claims by EPA and CARB really shakedowns? 

[Maxidyne]

My suspicions are that they're not so much shakedowns as attempts to favor "American" manufacturers. The effect of VW Group's cheating was so small that statisticians have difficulty measuring it, But they literally "threw the book" at VW with billions in penalties as well as requiring buy backs and rewards for owners submitting their vehicles for modifications. FCA did a similar cheat, but paid much smaller fines and just had to do recalls. Those were on Ram branded vehicles, had the been on FIATs or other Italian branded vehicles I suspect the penalties would have been higher. Then look how easy HOG(NYSE) got off- 200,000 "tuner" chips that pushed the bikes out of emissions compliance, and all they got was fines of something like $40 a vehicle. Combine this with the U.S.'s now oddball emissions requirements and loophole filled Fuel Economy standards and it looks like the EPA is clearly trying to move the goalpost's to help the "home team". That said, the EU and China are using plenty of non-tariff restrictions like heavy fuel taxes, oddball tax thresholds that favor small vehicles, and domestic company ownership requirements to move the goalposts in their favor.

[kscarbel2]

Ford to scale back V-8 engine output at Ontario plant

Automotive News  /  May 2, 2019

WINDSOR, Ontario — Ford Motor Co. is dropping one of three production shifts at its Essex engine plant in Windsor, Ontario, in October because of waning demand for 5.0-liter V-8 engines in the automaker’s F-series trucks.

The move was made “to better align with consumer demand,” a Ford Canada spokesman said.

John D'Agnolo, president of Unifor Local 200, which represents workers at the plant, said elimination of the third shift is the result of Ford offering a growing number of engine sizes.

F-series truck buyers can choose among 2.7-, 3.3-, 3.5- and 5.0-liter engines — as well as a diesel variant — and many are opting for smaller engines, D’Agnolo said. 

Ford Canada said “there will be no [job] cuts” as a result of the changes.

“All employees affected by the shift reduction will have the opportunity to move to Windsor Engine Plant Annex to support 7.3-litre engine production,” Ford Canada spokesman Matthew Drennan-Scace wrote in an email.

The annex building is part of the Windsor engine plant, which is a 15-minute drive from the Essex engine plant.

Two new production shifts are to begin at the annex in November, D’Agnolo said.

D’Agnolo said he wasn’t surprised by the news and workers were prepared.

“We’ve had down shifts every week since January, and we have two down weeks in the summer, and two more down weeks scheduled in September,” D’Agnolo said. “We could see that sales of the 5.0-liter were dropping.”

[kscarbel2]

Ford plans several initiatives to boost customer experience

Michael Martinez, Automotive News  /  April 2, 2019

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. credits a deep understanding of truck customers for the sales success of its F-series line of pickups.

Now the automaker wants to apply that same buyer-centric approach to the overall vehicle purchase process.

Ford on Thursday announced a series of initiatives designed to improve the customer experience. They include a new loyalty rewards program; redesigned call centers; and pilot programs for a mobile service network, easier lease renewal and new types of showrooms.

Although officials wouldn't disclose details, they said Ford is doubling the amount of money it spends on customer experience in an effort to improve its standing among rivals such as Toyota.

"We're sort of middle of the pack," said Elena Ford, the automaker's chief customer experience officer and great-great-granddaughter of founder Henry Ford. "We want to grow to be best in class. If we truly want to be serious about customer experience, we have to resource it like we do F-150."

The automaker late last year announced intentions to focus more on customer loyalty and retention instead of conquesting buyers from other brands, which they say is harder. Customer experience is at the heart of retention, Ford said, and the company looked to non-automotive companies such as Apple, Google, Marriott and JetBlue for best practices they could emulate.

"When experiences are good, we're rewarded with higher loyalty," Ford said.

FordPass Rewards

The automaker last month launched a new loyalty rewards program, called FordPass Rewards, to try to boost dealers' service business and stop customers from defecting to their local Jiffy Lube or third-party repair shop.

Nearly every U.S. dealer has signed up to offer the program, which runs through the company's FordPass smartphone app. Customers who buy or lease a new vehicle and enroll in the free program automatically earn 42,000 points, which is enough to cover their first three oil and air filter changes. Customers will earn points for any service visit and can bank points toward service costs or the purchase of a new vehicle. The points can be redeemed at any dealership.

Ford modeled the program on Delta's popular SkyMiles rewards program.

The program does not cost dealers. Ford pays for all of the points. Officials said they are looking at ways to expand opportunities for customers to earn points with more than just vehicle maintenance, which might occur only once every handful of months.

Mobile Service Vans

Ford has begun piloting a mobile service van concept at five dealerships across five states to better serve customers. The vans contain equipment for oil changes, brake pad installation and parts to fix recalls. Dealers must purchase and outfit the vans, and it's up to individual retailers how much they would charge for the service, Ford said.

The pilot currently runs in California and will expand this month to Texas, Illinois, New Jersey and Florida.

It is unclear how long the pilot will last or whether Ford will expand it. The automaker currently operates 100 mobile service vans for fleet vehicles in the U.K.

New showroom concepts

Ford is also experimenting with a series of new showroom concepts.

The first involves upgrades to the traditional showroom with what's called the Ford Signature look. It involves a more customer-centric experience modeled off Apple stores.

The stores call for replacing traditional deal desks with purchase rooms that have shared screens; monitors with service prices and video feeds of the service garage; and "celebration areas" for new-vehicle delivery that includes pulling a silk off a customer's new car, like at an auto show.

Ford said it has 70 Ford Signature stores around the world with plans to grow to 300 globally by year's end.

The automaker is also piloting a concept called Ford Smart Labs, an open floorplan look that's dropped into high-traffic retail areas, such as shopping malls. The first is opening in Brussels, Belgium, and Ford plans to add five more labs by the end of 2019, including one in Germany and another in Canada.

Lease pilots

Ford Credit is offering customers a couple of new experiences to make the leasing process smoother.

One is a "personal lease assistant" who can walk customers through any questions as early as four months before a lease is up. The pilot is currently running in New York and Philadelphia.

Another pilot called "Drive New. Now" provides lease customers with a one-click option to renew their lease by offering them a similar vehicle that's available now at their individual dealership. For example, someone in a 2016 Ford Edge would be offered a 2019 Edge with the same trim package.

Call centers

Ford this month will open a new 500-person call center in Houston with agents that specialize in pickup issues.

The call center will be a prototype for a new style globally, Ford said, that places greater emphasis on customer needs.

Instead of being transferred, a customer will now stay with the first person reached when the call is made. That first person will remain with the customer through the experience -- an idea Ford took from call centers at its Lincoln luxury brand.

"Everything we're doing is to empower customers and make their complicated lives simpler and worry-free," Elena Ford said.

[kscarbel2]

Bill Ford: 'Very pleased' with recent stock performance

Michael Martinez, Automotive News  /  May 9, 2019

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co.'s top executives Thursday promised shareholders that difficult decisions made last year are setting up the company for stronger performances in 2019 and beyond.

During the company's annual shareholders meeting, CEO Jim Hackett and Executive Chairman Bill Ford pointed to strong first-quarter earnings — and a corresponding surge in Ford's stock price — as signs that Hackett's controversial global reorganization was necessary. Since the start of the year, Ford's stock price has risen 34 percent, and last month it topped $10 a share for the first time since August. Shares were trading down 1 percent to $10.24 on Thursday in afternoon trading.

"I think our stock price kind of languished as a result of us slogging through some very necessary but difficult changes," Ford said. "We're not where we're going to be, we know that, but we're very pleased that the results of a lot of the hard work that took place in 2018 are starting to show in 2019 and that our stock price is responding."

Hackett, who has spent considerable time in his first two years as CEO defending his plan to Wall Street analysts, said Thursday his so-called redesign was not "moving too slowly, nor was it too futuristic," and that it is finally showing positive results.

"The optimism in the company is higher now," Hackett said. "We've turned that corner."

Recession planning

Hackett last month vowed that Ford would be ready for any upcoming recession, and shareholders Thursday pressed for details.

CFO Bob Shanks, who retires next month, reiterated the automaker's position that it is working to ensure the company could break even if U.S. industry sales plunged to 11 million per year.

He said Ford would be able to break even if the annualized selling rate — which was 16.41 million in April, according to the Automotive News Data Center — hit 11.5 million. In 2009, automakers sold just 10.4 million vehicles in the U.S.

"We've been thinking about the design of our business such that it doesn't only make money in great times," Hackett said. "We have to be a vibrant business through all cycles."

Shareholder proposals

For the second consecutive year, shareholders questioned Ford's decision to abandon the North American sedan market in favor of crossovers, SUVs and pickups, and Hackett reiterated Ford's position that it plans to keep sedan customers by offering different types of low-cost vehicles.

Responding to a question about a potential spinoff of the company's Smart Mobility business, Ford said it's not something the automaker was considering because the sector is rapidly evolving.

Among shareholder proposals, voters rejected an annual request to eliminate the Ford family's special class of shares. Ford said 65.7 percent voted against the change, up from 63.9 percent last year.

For the third year in a row, Ford conducted its annual meeting solely online, a departure from in-person gatherings of the past in Delaware. Some shareholders have complained, but the automaker said it can answer more questions and reach more shareholders with the virtual format, and General Motors has said it would move to a similar online-only format.

[kscarbel2]

Ford debuts new transmission system to power next-gen hybrids

Michael Martinez, Automotive News  /  May 17, 2019

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. is looking to add muscle to its next generation of hybrid vehicles.

Over the next few years, the automaker plans hybrid versions of its F-150 pickup, Bronco SUV and Explorer crossover, among other vehicles. It promises they'll be able to venture off road, tow boats and haul around multiple golfbags or suit cases.

To deliver on those capability claims, engineers developed a new transmission system, dubbed "modular hybrid technology," that debuts later this year on the 2020 Explorer. The system, featuring an electric motor, clutch and torque converter, not only improve fuel economy on Ford's larger vehicles, but also provides more power.

"Hybrids are more than just fuel efficiency," Dave Filipe, Ford's vice president of powertrain engineering, told media at a presentation this week. "Whatever solutions we provide have to be no-compromise, especially as we get into the larger vehicles. We need to create something different to get the right answer for this customer segment."

The modular hybrid technology was designed to fit with rear-wheel-drive vehicles that contain Ford's 10-speed transmission. Officials say the new system uses roughly 90 percent common parts as the standard 10-speed, but inserts an electric motor that provides low-speed torque and an extra boost of power.

On the upcoming Explorer hybrid, for example, the electric motor will put out 44 horsepower. When coupled with the vehicle's 3.3-liter V-6 engine, it will generate 318 horsepower and 322 pound-feet of torque. It will also be able to tow up to 5,000 pounds and have a 500-mile range.

The fourth-generation lithium ion battery that powers the hybrids is roughly 33 percent smaller than the first generation that debuted on Ford's 2005 Escape hybrid, and is packaged underneath both the Explorer's second row seats to prevent it from taking up cargo space.

The modular hybrid technology also features a new exhaust gas heat recovery system that takes heat traveling down the exhaust pipe and recirculates it back to the engine and transmission system to help it warm up faster.

Smaller, front-wheel-drive vehicles, like the 2020 Escape hybrid and plug-in hybrid, will feature an electronic continuously variable transmission [CVT] that can achieve a top speed of 85 mph on battery power. It will come in four modes, including an "EV charge" mode that directs the powertrain to charge the battery pack while the vehicle is being driven so that electric only range can be used later.

The new hybrid systems come as Ford invests $11 billion in electrification through 2022. It is planning 40 electrified vehicles, including 16 battery-electrics.

While the automaker plans pure EVs, like a Mustang-inspired crossover and a future electric F-150, Filipe said it was important to offer multiple forms of electrification to help drive down costs.

"It's a much more affordable alternative to all electric vehicles," Filipe said. "Our competitors don't have a story in this space. We're going to be aggressively chasing hybrids and making it work for customers."

[kscarbel2]

Aluminum F-150 proves less costly to repair

Michael Martinez, Automotive News  /  May 20, 2019

Overall collision losses in line with steel pickups

Bob Tomes was among the Ford Motor Co. dealers who sank tens of thousands of dollars into new equipment and training to repair the automaker's aluminum F-150 pickup when it debuted in late 2014.

Mother Nature showed him that it was the right call.

Back-to-back Texas hailstorms in the spring of 2017 filled his eponymous dealership's service bays in McKinney with dented and damaged pickups. But the F-150's modular architecture and extensive training given to his nine certified technicians resulted in speedy repairs that cost as much as $2,000 less than similarly damaged steel-bodied vehicles, Tomes said.

"We were called upon to make that investment, and you have to step up," Tomes said. "I think we're very pleased with how it turned out."

So is Ford, whose big bet on aluminum for its hugely profitable F-series franchise prompted persistent questions — and relentless attacks from rivals — about whether the pickup would cost more to repair and insure. But insurance data shows that an extraordinary effort to train dealers, educate insurers and design the vehicle to be as repair-friendly as possible helped make it ultimately cheaper to fix and replace than the previous generation, a goal to which Ford engineers aspired from the project's inception.

"It was our moonshot," Dave Johnson, Ford's global director of service engineering operations, said. "We wanted them to be insurable on par with a steel F-150."

Aluminum is lighter than steel, but it generally costs more and sustains damage more easily. Switching materials helped Ford cut the weight of the F-150 by up to 700 pounds but had the potential to make the company's top-selling and most lucrative vehicle line vulnerable if buyers began to perceive the trucks as weaker or more expensive to own.

The Highway Loss Data Institute, an affiliate of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, has not studied overall insurance costs, which are determined by factors such as a driver's age, gender and location, but its latest data on collision claim coverage yielded surprising results. Collision claim severity for aluminum F-150s is roughly 7 percent lower than on the steel predecessor, in part because of cheaper repairs. But the frequency of collision claims has risen about 7 percent, resulting in an unchanged overall loss.

When the pickup was introduced, insurers predicted that costs would hold steady unless claims data indicated a need for an adjustment.

"Given the fact it was aluminum intensive, and prior aluminum vehicles indicated collision claim severities increased, there was concern the same would occur with the F-150," Matt Moore, senior vice president of the Highway Loss Data Institute, told Automotive News. "Simply put, when we look at the overall losses relative to the other pickup trucks, there's not a change, which was not consistent with expectations."

State Farm says insurance prices for the aluminum pickup are roughly in line with those of the previous model.

Modular architecture

Ford officials said that, from the earliest meetings around the F-150's aluminum-heavy redesign, they focused on engineering it to be as repair-friendly as possible with a new, modular architecture.

The front apron tubes, for example, were pulled out farther for easier access. Repairing them on the previous-generation F-150 involved a time-consuming teardown of the vehicle's A-pillar and removal of the instrument panel.

The Highway Loss Data Institute also cited changes to the front fenders that cut replacement time by six or seven hours.

Gerry Bonanni, a Ford senior engineer for paint and body repair, said Ford made those changes based on frustrating experiences with the steel pickup.

"The key thing was that we had the involvement from the early engineering meetings," he said. "The designers were able to engineer it around those specific points."

Johnson noted that meetings on the modular design started as much as two years before the F-150's debut.

"You can't overstate the value of having the truck engineered upfront in a way that it's less susceptible to damage," he said.

Cheaper parts

Ford also has priced replacement parts for the aluminum pickup lower.

The Highway Loss Data Institute found that total parts costs for the 2015-16 aluminum F-150s are 16 percent less than those for the 2014 steel pickups.

That includes a 43 percent drop for hoods and taillights and a 37 percent decrease for front bumpers. Rear bumpers and bedside replacement parts cost more, though.

Ford officials declined to comment on the parts pricing, although Johnson noted that Ford worked with suppliers for adhesives, cleaners, paint and other materials to help keep costs competitive.

The Highway Loss Data Institute noted, for example, that bumpers on the new pickup use chrome and do not require painting as those on the steel versions do, which saves roughly $150.

Dealer training

The aluminum F-150 rollout also included extensive training and education for dealers and insurers.

Ford offered its retail network a voluntary Collision Repair Program to train service shop technicians how to work with the material.

Dealers were responsible for buying new equipment that cost between $30,000 and $50,000, although they could get rebates from Ford worth roughly $10,000. Equipment included a rubberized curtain to separate aluminum repairs from work on steel vehicles because aluminum dust can ignite and explode if cross-contaminated with steel dust.

"That was critical; we knew we were asking dealers to do something big with us," Johnson said. "We knew we needed to have coverage across the country."

As part of that dealer training, Ford brought in insurance adjusters to familiarize them with changes to the vehicle. Bonanni said the company has trained nearly 6,000 adjusters to date.

Doug North, president of North Brothers Ford in Westland, Mich., was among the dealers who invested in the new equipment and training.

He said it was worth it.

"We're glad we did it," he said. "Our F-series sales and local market sales of F series have steadily grown in the last few years. Given the decline in car sales, it also represents a larger percentage of our business. We haven't had any real hiccups."

[Rob]

I sure wish that is what I was hearing from the independent body shops I'm around and visit, (including dealerships). Being in the collision repair business for many years and having vague familiarity with the operation(s), the reality is quite different at my local geographic level.

Sales I can't answer for. Repair is another arena however and I have a little direct experience with it.

[RoadwayR]

What I am hearing is that these Fords are in many instances easier to repair (replacing a bed side, for instance), but more prone to damage that steel bodied pickup trucks.  That seems to be what this article is saying, roughly 7% cheaper to repair but a 7% higher instance of repair.

I wonder what they will look like after 10 years.  Maybe they will not corrode as bad as steel, but will we be seeing lots of little cracks and dings all over?

[kscarbel2]

Ford plans 7,000 salaried job cuts by September, saving $600 million a year

Michael Martinez, Automotive News  /  May 20, 2019

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Hackett told employees Monday the automaker is entering the final stretch of job cuts it began last year, and by September it will have shed 7,000 salaried positions globally — roughly 10 percent of its salaried work force — saving the company $600 million annually.

The number includes voluntary buyouts, involuntary separations and open positions Ford chose not to fill. Of the 7,000, about 800 involuntary separations will have occurred in the U.S., some 500 of which are scheduled to happen this week.

"Ford is a family company and saying goodbye to colleagues is difficult and emotional," Hackett wrote in an email. "We have moved away from past practices in some regions where team members who were separated had to leave immediately with their belongings, instead giving people the choice to stay for a few days to wrap up and say goodbye."

The process, which Ford has deemed a "smart redesign," apparently has taken longer than initially expected. Hackett this year said the actions would be wrapped up by midyear.

The 7,000 cuts include some salaried positions in South America, where Ford is closing a plant and exiting some vehicle markets. They also include cuts to its European business, announced this year.

Ford began the layoff process in November but has declined to provide details until now. Experts questioned the strategy of leaving employees without much information, but Ford insisted that it was doing it in a "thoughtful" way.

Hackett said Monday the company was creating a flatter management structure with less bureaucracy, noting more than 80 percent of managers will have six or more direct reports, up from 35 percent before the cuts began.

Since Hackett took over as CEO two years ago, he has implemented an $11 billion global redesign to improve what he calls Ford’s “fitness,” which includes the layoffs as well as cuts to unprofitable and low-margin vehicles, including all sedans. In addition, Ford in 2018 announced a five-year cost-cutting goal of $25.5 billion as it works to hit 8 percent profit margins globally by 2020.

Hackett has called 2019 a “year of action” after taking longer than some analysts and investors would have liked to implement his plans. The automaker’s stock, after languishing for years, has risen more than 30 percent in 2019, although shares are still trading lower than when Hackett took over for former CEO Mark Fields in May 2017.

[Red Horse]

The number of direct report stats speaks volumes about why some of this is being done.  Ford apparently still has to catch on to the fact that flatter org charts are cost effective-assuming of course you have the right people

[kscarbel2]

Ford tests package-carrying robots for driverless delivery

Bloomberg  /  May 21, 2019

It’s a headless robot in a driverless car.

Ford Motor Co. is working on a way to resolve what self-driving researchers refer to as “the last 50-foot problem.” If an autonomous delivery vehicle arrives at your house, without any humans aboard, who’s going to carry the package, grocery bags or piping-hot pizza to your doorstep? A robot, of course, could be up to the task — with no tipping necessary.

In Ford’s case, the solution is Digit, an android with two stork-like legs, arms capable of carrying a 40-pound load and a camera-encrusted torso topped by a puck-shaped laser-radar sensor. It could be the headless cousin of a battle droid from the much maligned Star Wars prequels.

The business case for driverless delivery is even more compelling than robotaxis — and potentially easier to execute. For one thing, there’s no need to worry about the safety of human passengers. And the rise of online shopping has turned package delivery into a huge growth area. Just ask Amazon, which spent $27 billion on delivery costs last year.

Remove the human driver from the equation, and delivery costs could plunge by 60 percent or more. The benefits could be in the billions.

Ford would like to deploy Digit delivery robots  as early as 2021, alongside the planned introduction of its autonomous vehicle fleets to ferry people and packages around the clock.

“We’re going to have an AV fleet out there, and my goal is to get robots to be able to be there and ready at the same time,” said Craig Stephens, director of controls and automation in Ford's research and advanced engineering.

How real humans will react to this delivery android is a key part of Ford’s research, which is just getting underway and will include real-world tests inside Ford factories, and on the sidewalks near its headquarters in Dearborn, Mich., and in Pittsburgh. “Digit looks actually pretty friendly to me,” Stephens said. The “inoffensive” appearance is “going to be a key thing for people to be able to trust a robot.”

Startup robot firm

Digit was created by Agility Robotics, a startup with fewer than 30 people based in Albany, Ore. Chief Technology Office Jonathan Hurst said he hasn't seen anyone react negatively when meeting Digit or a forbearer that lacked a torso and was simply a pair of piston-like legs attached to a motorized midsection. The robots have been allowed out on the town.

“I have a lot of people ask us, ‘Could this be perceived as creepy?’” Hurst said. “There is a small subset of people who stay far back,” he said, “and whip out their smartphone and starting taking video.”

While the design is likely to evolve, Hurst doesn't see a need to give Ford’s delivery robot a head. In fact, he wonders if that might freak people out more. “If it looks very close to an animal or a human but is not quite there, then immediately people are revolted by it,” Hurst said. “And we didn't physically need a head up there for our current perception needs.”

Other robot tests

Others are tinkering with delivery robots, not all of which are humanoid. Anybotics and German auto-parts giant Continental demonstrated a robotic delivery dog concept at the Consumer Electronics Show this year. Segway has shown a rolling delivery device that looks like a mobile office copier, and FedEx is testing a boxy rolling bot that can climb stairs and carry up to 100 pounds.

Starship Robots, which look like squat storm troopers with six wheels, are deployed in several cities around the world, according to the startup based in San Francisco and Estonia. And Postmates, which is researching autonomous grocery-getting with Ford, has a cute delivery robot known as Serve with googly eyes like Pixar's Wall-E, along with four oversize wheels.

Ford is worried that wheeled robot couriers would be blocked by front-porch steps found outside most homes in America. Digit, by comparison, can climb steps and raise its arms to catch itself in a fall. Its tiny feet, soled in corrugated rubber, can traverse concrete, grass, wood, and gravel.

Ford’s decision to go with two legs, instead of wheels, came with help from researchers at the University of Michigan. “Our world is designed for bipedals — us,” Stephens said. “So there's an inherent attractiveness to a bipedal robot.”

Another advantage is Digit’s lightweight design. Rather than outfit it with a full array of sensors and processors, which would push its bulk past 100 pounds, Digit gets most of its computing power from Ford’s self-driving vehicle. The same sensors that allow an autonomous car to navigate will be used to scan the path to the door and beam the route to the robot.

Transformers comparison

Once Digit has left the package on the porch or handed it to the recipient, it walks back to the delivery van, folds itself into a compact square, and slides into a drawer that serves as a docking station. The process looks like something out of a Transformers movie.

The suburban-porch scenario — “up the garden path to the front door,” as Stephens puts it — won’t be the only use case. Ford and Agility plan to test urban scenarios that involve gaining access to apartment buildings without help of a doorman.

At first, however, there will be a role for human helpers. “We're not going to be deploying them by the thousands and replacing all people who do the job right away,” Hurst said.

For Ford, which specializes in commercial vehicles, driverless delivery has huge potential. The automaker has pegged the potential value of the market for robot ride-hailing and driverless delivery at $332 billion.

“The business opportunity is large,” Stephens said.  “Robots are going to be necessary.”

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[kscarbel2]

Great way to create jobs and support the human race (sarcasm on my part).

[TS7]

Kscarbel they are cutting jobs to invest in this?

[kscarbel2]

1 hour ago, TS7 said:

Kscarbel they are cutting jobs to invest in this?

From what we're told, it's a fact they are doing both.

[kscarbel2]

The Ford Taurus Still Exists in China—and It Looks Good

Joe Capparella, Car & Driver  /  May 22, 2019

Facelifted for 2020, the Taurus sold elsewhere makes us imagine an alternate universe where Ford's car lineup continues to thrive.

• Although the Ford Taurus sedan ended production for the U.S. market earlier this year, Ford continues to sell a newer version of the Taurus in China.
• The China-market Taurus, which looks a lot better than the outgoing U.S.-market Taurus, is getting some updates including a new top-of-the-line Vignale trim.
• Unfortunately we won't be getting anything like this Taurus in America, since Ford has dropped all of its passenger-car nameplates except the Mustang.

Imagine an alternate universe where Ford's car lineup continues to thrive. Perhaps we in the United States would get a version of this attractive Taurus sedan, which is sold in China by the Blue Oval. Updated with fresh styling and a new luxurious Vignale trim, the China-market Taurus makes the outgoing U.S. version of the car—which ended production earlier this year—look outdated and downmarket.

We first saw this new Taurus in 2015, back when we still thought it had a chance of coming to the States. Instead, Ford prolonged the sixth-generation car's life through the 2019 model year and then gave it an unceremonious sendoff, quietly ending production in March 2019. The Chinese version of the car, shown here, is essentially a longer-wheelbase version of the Fusion. It comes with a choice of three engines, including a turbocharged 1.5-liter four-cylinder, a turbocharged 2.0-liter four, and a twin-turbocharged 2.7-liter V-6.

While we certainly won't see the Taurus nameplate affixed to this sedan in U.S. dealerships at any point, the nameplate might not be dead for good on our shores. Ford has said that it may apply well-established car nameplates to new crossover or SUV models in the future. For example, rumors have circulated about a Ford Fusion reincarnated as a lifted all-wheel-drive wagon to compete with the Subaru Outback. Might we see a revived Ford Taurus X crossover in the U.S. market in the near future? Only time will tell.

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[kscarbel2]

FORD'S GALHOTRA: 'We have a lot of great product this year'

Automotive News  /  June 2, 2019

DETROIT — For a glimpse into Ford Motor Co.'s expectations for the growth of its North American business, look no further than Kumar Galhotra's office space.

Roughly 15 months after he was named Ford's president of North America, Galhotra and his team have moved from Ford World Headquarters to more spacious digs in nearby Regent Court, a two-tower building that houses, among other teams, Ford's marketing and sales units. The team previously operated out of makeshift "franchise rooms" dedicated to individual nameplates that were slapped together from former executive offices and meeting spaces on the 11th floor of Ford's Glass House in Dearborn, Mich.

The office upgrades come at a pivotal time in North America, the company's longstanding moneymaker. Ford is aiming to have the industry's freshest lineup by 2020 and hoping that product, focused on profitable pickup and utility segments, will help improve margins.

"We have a lot of great product this year," Galhotra, who led Lincoln before taking his current post, told Automotive News. "A lot of product momentum should help both provide great vehicles for our customers and for our bottom line."

Galhotra, 53, spoke with Staff Reporter Michael Martinez and Chief Content Officer Jamie Butters in May about Ford's outlook for its North American business, including plans for some upcoming products. Here are edited excerpts.

Q: Ford has set a 10 percent North American profit margin target. Where is the company in terms of achieving that?

A: We just had an excellent [first] quarter. This is the third consecutive quarter of year-over-year improvement, so the signals are clearly there that what we are doing is working. We intentionally haven't put a strict timeline on 10 percent because there are way too many variables that impact the business. The overall trajectory needs to be toward 10 percent. Will there be ups and downs? Absolutely. There are multiple macroeconomic, regulatory levers that would impact that.

Is the 10 percent goal a full-year average? Or do you expect to consistently hit 10-plus every quarter?

My view is, in our industry, we should emphasize the full year more than each quarter because of multiple factors that can provide quarter-to-quarter variability. Weather impacts it. There's seasonality in our fleet business. Then there's quarter-to-quarter variability in our costs. We're a capital-intensive business, so if you launch a particular product in third quarter vs. fourth quarter, that's going to have a big impact. I want to see improvement in every quarter, but I'm very aware that quarter-to-quarter variability is a fact of life.

What's the biggest threat to North America?

There are multiple headwinds that we manage every day. It's not one particular threat. A particular headwind from the customer side could be interest rates. They've gone up, so that's something that needs to be managed very carefully, providing the customers what they want and what they can afford. The environment in terms of tariffs continues to be volatile. We're doing a lot of work on quality and fully expect improvement between 2018 and 2019. Let's not forget the competition; nobody's standing still. All day, every day, we're all fighting for share and volume, and how we react to each other's actions is a daily part of work. It's not one threat. It's managing all parts of the business.

Last year, Ford axed plans to bring the Focus Active wagon to North America. Are tariffs impacting other product plans?

Generally, we need the steel and aluminum tariffs to go away as part of [the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement]. That was a very substantial headwind from 2017 to 2018. The impact is about flat '18 to '19, but it's still there. We do import parts from China, and those are impacted; those will be more expensive as they're coming here. We do ship substantial Lincoln volumes from the U.S. to China. As those volumes are impacted by higher tariffs on the China side, we have to make adjustments in the U.S. plants. That has an obvious impact of scale for us; those plants being set up to serve two markets now have a lot less volume. It's a very complex situation.

Relief on metals tariffs has been announced. Have you accounted for that?

I think it's a very great first step, but we need to keep in mind it still needs to be ratified, and that's very important. In our forecast, it does not include elimination of 232 tariffs for steel and aluminum until it's secured.

It's been a year since Ford announced plans to cut sedans. Will you lose market share as you exit those segments?

No. We believe we will make it up through multiple actions. Managing the timing is complex. Because we are a capital-intensive business, a product cycle for us is years, not days. Retooling a plant takes time. With Bronco and the small rugged utility coming, expansion of Expedition and Navigator capacity, with a fresh Explorer and Escape, if you combine all that, at a run-rate level, we think we'll be fine in making up the market share. Would it be the same every month? You can't be that precise about it.

Is there concern about losing sedan customers to some of your rivals?

There will be lots of customers also, the flip side, in vehicles that we weren't providing previously. The question really is, where are our strengths, and where is our capital best deployed? That's something we take very seriously now.

Automotive News has reported that Ford is considering the Bronco and its other off-roaders as a "family" of vehicles. Would you consider it as its own subbrand?

I can't go into the details, but I can say the Bronco brand name is so strong, we're looking at all kinds of possibilities. It's a very emotional product. Along with that love for that brand name comes the responsibility of how you execute that product. If the Bronco is going to be a Bronco, it has to deliver on capability and feel and emotional pull that customers have for that brand. We have to be really good stewards of that brand name. We have to look at all opportunities that are out there. We're studying very carefully not just where we want to go, but where can the customer allow us to go with that name?

Is Ford considering having more than one product with the Bronco name?

We're studying possibilities. I can't be any more specific than that.

Can Ford beat Jeep in the off-road segment?

I feel that looking at it from that broad a lens — off-road only — is just the starting point. But then you need to look at, what is unique about Bronco vs. other similar vehicles in the marketplace functionally, emotionally and from a design-language perspective? Getting those things right is going to be very, very important. We know there is a lot of love for that nameplate in the marketplace. It goes beyond the name itself; it's what it represents. Because some of our customers are spending $200,000 or more restoring their Broncos, and there are hundreds of Bronco clubs all over the U.S. The passion for the product, from our customers, dealers and employees, is incredible. The market research we do, both on the concept and research with prototypes, has been very well-received. You put all those together, we're very confident there's a substantial opportunity for us, both in terms of volume and pricing. Is there space out there? Yes. Can we make a strong business case about that? Absolutely.

Does Ford plan a charging network for electric vehicles? Would it be Ford- branded or part of a consortium?

If you're going to put EVs on the market, you need a very strong and well-thought-out charging strategy. And we do; we're working on it. I don't think we're close enough to declare [possible collaborations]. It is going to involve several stakeholders to execute it properly. First and foremost, we're looking at it through the lens of the consumer, to provide great options for charging at home. But then, we need to have a very broad network that helps them charge away from home. The fundamental issue is to solve range anxiety.

Other competitors have tried and failed to sell electric pickups. Why electrify the F series?

It goes back to our ethnographic research. Our F-series team go to where they use those vehicles. It wasn't just the vehicle itself, it was the vehicle in its environment. They noticed, in multiple construction sites, there was always a generator, and it was always noisy and smelly. Then the question is, what's the insight there? Could you just remove all that noise and smell? It's not just a fuel economy play, it's s a totally different experience play.

The next-generation F-150 launches in 2020. Ram has had success in part because of its interior. How much will the interior of the F-150 evolve?

This was our philosophy at Lincoln, and this is our philosophy more and more here leaning into human-centered design. The interior space provides an experience for our customers. We're very thoroughly looking at what experiences to provide those customers. Both work and personal-use customers have different needs. We know what those needs are and what those experiences ought to be. We're designing an interior that's going to meet those functional needs and also provide surprises and delights for our customers. Interiors are important for all vehicles, but especially for that vehicle.

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Video - https://www.autonews.com/2019galhotravideo

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[kscarbel2]

Hollywood takes on iconic racing story in ‘Ford v Ferrari'

Danielle Szatkowski, Automotive News  /  June 3, 2019

Hollywood is taking on the true story of American car designer Carroll Shelby and British-born driver Ken Miles -- who teamed up to build a revolutionary race car for Henry Ford II -- with an upcoming feature film titled Ford v Ferrari.

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. debuted the worldwide trailer for the film, starring Academy Award winners Matt Damon and Christian Bale, Sunday night during Game 2 of the NBA Finals on ABC.

The nearly three-minute trailer shows Shelby, portrayed by Damon, work with Miles, played by Bale, to take on the dominating race cars of Enzo Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France in 1966.

Former Ford Motor Co. executive Lee Iacocca, played by Jon Bernthal, approaches Shelby to build Ford II the "greatest race car the world's ever seen."

Shelby says to Iacocca that winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans takes "something money can't buy."

Iacocca responds: "Money can buy speed."

"You need a pure racer behind the wheel of your car; that's Ken Miles," Damon's voice-over as Shelby says while Bale as Miles is seen putting his race car helmet on.

Next, Miles and Shelby are sitting at a table in a diner talking about the race proposal.

"You're going to build a car to beat Ferrari with a Ford?" asks Miles. "And how long did you tell them that you needed? Two-, three hundred years?"

Shelby responds: "Ninety days."

Next, Ford II, portrayed by Tracy Letts, says to Shelby in the Ford executive office, "This isn't the first time that Ford Motor's gone to war."

During a night scene of the Ford race car, a voice-over of Letts as Ford II says, "We know how to do more than push paper. Go ahead, Carroll, go to war."

The trailer continues with a sequence of gutsy, action-filled racing scenes before finishing with Shelby giving Ford II a ride around the track in the race car.

Film's origin

Shelby, who died in 2012 at 89, was known as an American automotive designer, racing driver and entrepreneur.

His vehicles, such as the Ford-powered Cobra sports car, first-generation Shelby Mustang, Le Mans-winning GT40 and modern Mustang are among Ford's post-Word War II highlights. Shelby also had a hand in the development of the Dodge Viper sports car, various high-performance Chrysler products and his own sports car, the Shelby Series 1.

Iacocca, Ford's general manager in the early 1960s, knew of Shelby and knew he was installing Ford engines into British sports cars. It's unclear whether Iacocca approached Shelby or vice versa about turning the Mustang into a performance car, according to an Automotive News account published in 2014.

"It was Lee Iacocca who really stayed behind us all the way, encouraged us, and then got us into the Mustang program," Shelby wrote in Alex Gabbard's 1990 book, Fast Mustangs.

Ford v Ferrari, directed by James Mangold, is set to hit theaters Nov. 15.

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[Maxidyne]

Awesome story that makes the current Ford management look like the losers they are!

[kscarbel2]

Chinese regulators slap Ford's joint venture with $23.6 million fine

CNN Business  /  June 5, 2019

Hong Kong - Chinese regulators have fined Ford's main joint venture in the country for violating antitrust laws.

China's State Administration for Market Regulation slapped Changan Ford with a 162.8 million yuan ($23.6 million) fine for setting minimum resale prices on its cars in the city of Chongqing.

The fine amounts to 4% of the company's sales in Chongqing last year.

Ford owns 50% of the joint venture, with the rest controlled by its local partner, state-owned carmaker Changan Automobile.

Changan Ford's actions deprived downstream dealers of pricing autonomy, restricted competition and damaged the legitimate interests of consumers, the regulator said.

Ford said it "respects" the market regulator's decision.

"Changan Ford has taken corrective action in its regional sales management together with its dealers," a Ford spokesperson said.

"As an ethical company, Ford is committed to complying with local laws and regulations wherever we do business," the spokesperson added.

The penalty also comes as Ford is looking to make up lost ground in China. Ford's sales in the country plunged by nearly 40% in 2018 compared to the previous year.

The carmaker announced in April that it plans to launch more than 30 new Ford and Lincoln vehicles in China over the next three years as it tries to reverse a decline in sales in the world's biggest auto market.

China is Ford's second biggest market after the United States.

[kscarbel2]

In China, car dealers have the right to sell vehicles for whatever price they want......as they should in a free market.