A few days ago, according to media reports, Ford's stock price soared nearly 140% last year, beating Tesla, General Motors and many new electric vehicle startups to become the best performing stock among automakers in 2021.
Investors have rewarded Ford for its new direction under Jim Farley, who took the helm of the company in October 2020 after the board ousted former CEO Jim Hackett.
Farley has promised to be more open and transparent to investors, and he has also launched a "Ford Plus" restructuring program to shift more resources to manufacturing electric vehicles, such as the upcoming F-150 Lightning pickup EV.
Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said 2021 "is truly a breakthrough year for Ford... It was the company's most strategically important year since the financial crisis. ”
Ford's biggest one-day gain last year occurred on Dec. 10, when Farley confirmed on social media that It would triple production of its electric vehicle, the Mustangch-E, to more than 200,000 units a year in North America and Europe by 2023. Ford shares surged 9.6 percent that day to close at a 20-year high of about $21.45 per share.
Since Farley took the helm of Ford more than 15 months ago, the company's stock price has risen more than 200 percent. The company's ability to continue this rally will largely depend on achieving the initiatives outlined in its "Ford Plus" plan, which includes accelerating its electric vehicle program and achieving an EBIT margin of 8% by 2023.
![Beat Tesla soaring 140% for Ford into the best-performing stock of 2021[fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)