Ford focusses on electrification... with pick-ups and trucks

The car manufacturer wants to reach more customers and improve profitability

By: Benja Hiller

Aug 26, 2024 at 3:12am ET

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If you look at the current Ford range, today's news from the USA comes as no surprise. The US car manufacturer continues to work diligently on electrification options and is hoping for more customers, more profitability and a reduction in CO2 consumption as a result.

The latter alone has already happened, at least in Europe, as sales of Ford vehicles have more than halved compared to 2014. Pure electrification is not even the obvious problem. It is probably the direction that is now being pushed further. Ford is focussing on pick-ups, trucks, SUVs and commercial vehicles and wants to make its focus even more global for cost reasons. Let's take a look at the future plans in detail.

For North America, Ford's priority is the introduction of an "advanced commercial vehicle in 2026", produced in Ohio, which will herald a new generation of electric vehicles. The E-Transit, North America's best-selling electric van, has already been on the market there since 2022. Two all-electric pick-ups with a long range and "other affordable vehicles" are to follow in 2027.

These include the market launch of an electric truck with the code name "Project T3", which was actually supposed to appear earlier and has now been postponed to the second half of 2027. This is to be based on the US bestseller F-150 Lightning, feature bidirectional charging and advanced aerodynamics. Ford are probably the only ones to use F-150 and aerodynamics in the same sentence.

For a mid-size affordable pick-up from 2027, a platform is planned that has been designed "to scale quickly with minimal complexity by supporting multiple vehicle types".

In addition, more emphasis is to be placed on battery production in the USA, which is why, in addition to further efforts within the USA, part of the battery production for the Mustang Mach-E is moving from Poland to Holland, Michigan, USA. Because: "An affordable electric vehicle starts with an affordable battery."

"As the second largest US electric vehicle brand, we've learned a lot about what customers want and value and what it takes to combine the best in the world with cost-effective design, and we've developed a plan that maximises choice for our customers and plays to our strengths," said Ford CEO Jim Farley.

Ford Capri (2024)

Ford

Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally (2023)

"Maximum choice", which in Europe, however, with the discontinuation of former icons such as Ka, Fiesta, Focus and Mondeo, only includes similar body shapes and thus also forms of utilisation. For example, "increasing requirements for compliance with regulations" are to blame for the price pressure. A dynamic that emphasises the "need" to maintain a "globally competitive cost structure while selecting customer and product segments to ensure profitable growth and capital efficiency", continues Ford.

For fear of Chinese competition, Ford is apparently pushing something that is not very popular, at least in this country. They are focussing on cost reduction in order to match the advantages of the Chinese manufacturers, but are disregarding local preferences and may ultimately be saving money at the wrong end with their single-track structure.

The Group has already provided an explanation for its European strategy here. According to John Lawler, the Deputy Chairman and Chief Financial Officer of Ford, its vehicles should in future achieve a positive EBIT "within the first 12 months after market launch".

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A special write-down of around 400 million US dollars, on the other hand, is planned for future three-row SUVs, which will no longer be all-electric but will be equipped with hybrid drives. Subsequent costs and cash outlays of up to 1.5 billion US dollars are not ruled out. "Reduce complexity" is the magic word.

With all the pick-ups, trucks and SUVs, a Fiesta successor also seems to be in the pipeline for 2027 and therefore part of the electrification plan. That's a good thing, because without models that strike a chord with the European continent and are tailored to the tight space requirements, the plan won't work. Ford wants to take another look at this strategy in the first half of 2025 and present an update.

Source: Ford