Car stuff (public number: chedongxi)
Author | The Way
Edited | Mumi
According to Bloomberg, Ford motor vehicles are looking for multiple options to split the electric vehicle business, and CEO Jim Farley is even considering splitting the electric vehicle business into a new company after splitting it.
In recent years, Ford's development has stalled, gradually lagging behind the emerging electric vehicle brand, and the product has fallen into a dilemma. While the hot sales of the new electric vehicle Mustang Mach-E helped Ford break into the electric vehicle market, Farley intended to split the electric vehicle business from Ford's traditional business and expand the development of electric vehicles, so as to win investors' confidence in Ford's future development, just like Tesla and other pure electric vehicle manufacturers have obtained.
However, the opposition of Ford's rulers, the Ford family, may affect the direction of the plan, fearing that the breakup would affect their interests. But whether Ford's electric vehicles will be split or consider many factors, the final result should be the result of a variety of power competitions.
First, Ford CEO did not deny the split The results remain to be seen
Ford CEO Farley had hoped to separate the electric vehicle business from the traditional car business, and even considered splitting one of the businesses, because the split company could create a market value as close to $1 trillion (about 6,330.2 billion yuan) as Tesla. At a meeting on the company's board earlier this month, Farley was asked if he would break up, and he didn't deny the possibility.
Farley said running a successful ICE (traditional internal combustion engine) business is not the same as a successful BEV (electric vehicle) business. The EV business is also fundamentally different from the traditional automotive business when it comes to attracting audiences and product manufacturing, as well as hiring engineers and designers. Farley later added: "We don't seek compromises, we have said goodbye to incremental change. Now we have a clear plan, a radical action and a mentality of whatever it takes. ”
Ford CEO Jim Farley
Second, Wall Street asked Ford to split and promote market capitalization growth
Wall Street has strongly demanded that Ford break up its electric vehicle business and ask it to increase value and gain access to capital markets by cutting legacy costs. Because investors see the huge market capitalization of pure electric vehicle manufacturers, they will inject large investment funds into them. For example, Rivian Electric Pickup Truck Company, although it did not produce many cars at the end of last year, but because of the large amount of investment, The market value of Rivian quickly surpassed Thatd after going public.
After Bloomberg News reported on Ford's electric car spin-off plans, Ford's stock rose sharply, and then narrowed its gains as the broader market fell, rising 2.9 percent by the close, closing at $18.04 (about 114.07 yuan).
GM, which is also an auto giant with Ford, has also come under pressure from Wall Street but has not agreed to break up the electric vehicle business.
▲ Several models of Ford
Third, the Ford family may lose real power Splitting or being opposed
For the Ford family, splitting up the business should be a tough decision. According to people familiar with the matter, the Ford family controls Ford through a two-tier equity system, but family members, including executive chairman Bill Ford, have only 3 seats on the board, and they fear that they will lose control of Ford after the company is split.
Asked about the split plan, the relevant person in charge of Ford said that there is no plan to split the company, and CEO Farley may carry out a simple department restructuring to integrate the electric vehicle business into a division of Ford to help Ford gain a business advantage in the electrical era.
When asked again about the split plan, the relevant person in charge of Ford continued: "We are focused on helping the company transform through the "Ford +" program and making it better develop in this era of intelligent and connected cars and electric vehicles, but we have no plans to split the electric vehicle business and the traditional car business. ”
Henry Ford's great-grandson joined the family business
Fourth, the split also requires the consent of many parties to make profits
In addition to winning the support of the founding family, the spin-off must also be agreed to by car dealers and the United Auto Workers Union.
Farley is currently seeking to work closely with Dougfield, Apple's former head of automotive. According to people familiar with the matter, in September last year, Ford had hired Field as a senior engineer, and he had previously served as Tesla's chief engineer and was very capable. If Field and Farley want to break up the company, they have a lot of difficulties to overcome.
Analysts also said that Ford wants to get the highest profit margins of Tesla, as Farley estimates (about 60,000 yuan per car), it needs to get rid of the traditional business model. To reduce the impact of rising electric vehicle costs, automakers need a dropshipping model, like Tesla and Rivian, that bypasses dealers and their deductible profits, and automakers need to reduce labor costs.
Conclusion: Perhaps Ford will only reorganize its internal business
Without splitting off the electric vehicle business, Ford CEO Farley has tripled production of the electric mustang Mach-E and doubled the production of the F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck, which will be launched this spring.
In addition, according to the "Ford +" plan, Ford will produce 600,000 electric vehicles in two years, and it is expected that by 2030, electric vehicle sales will account for one-half of Ford's total sales. Ford has pledged a $30 billion (about 189.7 billion yuan) strategy for electric vehicles by 2025, and is said to be spending another $10 billion (about 63.2 billion yuan) to $20 billion (about 126.5 billion yuan) over a decade.
Late last year, Ford has also held talks with financial advisers to explore a number of things about electric vehicle operations, including a possible restructuring and raising private capital.
The re-establishment of the new company means a lot of uncertainty, perhaps, Ford will resist the pressure of Wall Street and insist on restructuring the electric vehicle business, after all, Ford's actual voice is still in the hands of the Ford family. As for the favor of capital, Ford is not lacking, after all, it still has a 12 percent stake in Rivian, which can compete with Tesla.