Centennial Ford "Elephant Turns"

Reporters Xia Zhibin, Yang Rangchen, Zhang Jiazhen, reported in Shanghai

Under the wave of the "new four modernizations" era, the Ford Motor Company (hereinafter referred to as "Ford Motor") founded in 1903 is undergoing a profound change to cope with the arrival of the era of electric vehicles.

On March 2, Ford Motor corporation announced the establishment of an independently operated electric vehicle and fuel vehicle business unit to compete fully with competitors in these two major areas, with the fuel vehicle business unit named "Ford Blue" and the electric vehicle business unit named "Ford Model e". Previously, Ford Motor Company announced the establishment of "Ford Pro" responsible for commercial vehicle and related service solutions.

"The three new business units are expected to operate independently and self-sustainably by 2023." Ford Motor said that Ford Blue and Ford Model e will operate as independent business units, but they will also share some related technologies and practical applications to form a scale benefit to promote the continuous improvement of operational efficiency.

At the same time, Ford Motor also announced its specific plans for the electric vehicle business. This includes Ford's spending (including capital expenditures, expenses and direct investments) in the electric vehicle business to reach $5 billion in 2022, an increase of 200% compared with 2021.

(The Ford Mustang Mach-E officially opens deliveries in the domestic market.) Image from the company's official website)

In the view of Zhang Xiang, a researcher at the Automotive Industry Innovation Research Center of The North China University of Technology, the new energy transformation of the automotive industry has become a trend, and now capital and investors are pursuing companies that do new energy business.

"The situation of traditional car companies in the capital market is more embarrassing. Taking Tesla, Toyota and Volkswagen as an example, from the perspective of sales, Tesla and Volkswagen and Toyota are not on the same order of magnitude, but Tesla's market value exceeds Volkswagen and Toyota. Zhang Xiang added, "Ford Motor's strategy of separating the fuel vehicle business from the new energy vehicle business is correct. If ford's independently operated business units are to finance and list in the future, there will be opportunities to compete with Tesla in all aspects. ”

Business department "soldiers divided into three roads"

"This is the first time in Ford's history that it has reimagined the future and proposed our business development plan path." Bill Ford, Executive Chairman of Ford Motor, said, "We are facing an unprecedented opportunity to lead the automotive industry into an exciting era of intelligent networking and electrification, to provide our customers with the best products and services from Ford, and to play an important role in creating a greener planet." ”

It is understood that in May 2021, Jim Farley, president and CEO of Ford Motor, announced the Ford+ business development plan, calling it "an unprecedented development opportunity for the company in terms of business growth and value creation since Henry Ford achieved assembly line large-scale production of the Model T."

As for the reasons for the spin-off of the automotive business unit, Jim Farley said: "We have made great progress in a very short period of time. We have launched a series of new products around the world, and our electric vehicles, especially the F-150 Lightning and Music mach-E models, have received enthusiastic market responses, and order demand continues to set new records. ”

"But our hope is that through the Ford+ program, Ford Can be a truly great company that can change the world." This requires our business to be more focused and focused. We will strive to create a business unit that operates independently but complementarily, allowing Ford Model e to have the efficiency and speed of a start-up and innovate without being constrained by rules, while allowing Ford Blue to continue to leverage our experience in the industry, the advantages of production scale, and the classic model brands that new car-making forces dream of, such as Ford Bronco. Jim Farley further said.

The "China Business Daily" reporter learned that Ford Blue and Ford Model e are two automotive business units that operate independently and are interdependent. Ford Pro provides a dedicated one-stop shop for commercial and government customers, including a full range of fuel and electric vehicle products, a full range of software systems, charging and services. Ford Model e and Ford Blue also provide business support for Ford Drive, which focuses on mobility.

"Ford Blue's mission is to build a profitable, dynamic fuel vehicle business, continue to grow bigger and stronger with iconic model products that perform well in the market, and increase brand loyalty by delivering services and experiences that far exceed customer expectations," said Jim Farley. ”

"The Ford Model e will be at the heart of Ford's future innovation and business growth. It brings together some of the world's best software, electrification and automotive talent to create electric and digital experiences that truly amaze a new generation of consumers. Jim Farley said.

According to reports, Ford Model e will accelerate innovation, launch more industry-breaking electric vehicle products, form economies of scale, and be responsible for providing software, intelligent networking technology and services for Various Business Units of Ford Motor.

The reporter noted that before the formation of the Ford Model E, Ford Motor had previously tried to form some small, task-oriented teams, such as the product development team of Ford GT, Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning, as well as the electric vehicle business team of Ford China, which provided successful experience for the formation of Ford Model E.

Electrification transition accelerates gear shifting

At the same time as announcing the separation of business units, Ford Motor also announced a series of plans for the company's future development. In terms of profit targets, Ford motor reconfirmed that "the company's 2022 adjusted EBITDA target is $11.5 billion to $12.5 billion."

It is understood that the upper limit of the above target is equivalent to an EBIT margin of 8%. "If it can be successfully achieved, the company will reach the previously set EBIT margin target one year earlier." With a series of strategic adjustments, Ford Motor has also raised the company's long-term business operations and financial indicators accordingly. Ford motor said.

The reporter noted that by 2026, Ford Motor expects the adjusted EBIT margin to reach 10%, which is 270 basic points higher than in 2021, mainly due to the increase in sales of electric vehicles and the decline in costs; and the structural cost of fuel vehicle products has been significantly reduced, saving up to $3 billion.

In terms of electrification, Ford motor said that the annual production of electric vehicles will exceed 2 million by 2026, equivalent to one-third of global sales, and is expected to further increase to half of global sales by 2030. "In the market segment where Ford has a leading edge, the market share of Ford electric vehicles will reach or even exceed the share of fuel vehicles."

In addition, Ford motor also said that the company's spending (including capital expenditures, expenses and direct investments) in the electric vehicle business will reach $5 billion in 2022, an increase of 200% compared with 2021, and reiterated its previously announced commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and achieve 100% use of local renewable electricity in global manufacturing plants by 2035.

"In this new era of mobility, this new business structure will enhance our ability to deliver industry-leading business growth, profits and cash flow." John Lawler, Chief Financial Officer of Ford Motor Company, said, "By leveraging existing capabilities, adding the required technical strength, simplifying business processes, and continuing to reduce costs and increase efficiency, we will achieve more significant results in the allocation of funds and expected returns in the traditional fuel vehicle and electric vehicle business." Most importantly, we believe this will lead to new business growth and create higher value for our investors. ”

Notably, with the creation of Ford Blue and Ford Model E, Ford Motor also announced a series of senior management team appointments. Among them, Jim Farley will also serve as president of Ford Model e; Doug Field will be appointed Chief Electric Vehicle and Digital Product Officer of Ford Model e, with overall responsibility for product development.

"To design pure electric, software-driven automotive products that can truly amaze consumers, and to create experiences that consumers can't even imagine, we need to break with tradition and take new ideas and approaches." "We're building a business that leverages the experience and capabilities that Ford has built up over the years, while also being quick and ambitious to create revolutionary products," Doug Field said. ”

Deepen the layout strategy of the Chinese market

Ford Motor (China) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Ford China"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ford Motor Corporation in China, was established in 1995 to provide consumers with a variety of Ford and Lincoln brand products and services in the Chinese market, and currently launched Ford F-150, Ford Muskang, Ford Muskang Mach-E, Ford EVOS, Ford Explorer, Ford Frontier Plus, Ford Roadbreaker and Ford Lingyu in the Chinese market.

What impact will Ford's new strategy have on the Chinese market? The relevant person in charge of Ford China told reporters: "Ford's strategic transformation plan will not bring additional changes to Ford China, and the four center layouts of Ford China's '2.0 Strategic Plan' and the transformation centered on consumer demand have always been at the forefront of the global Ford+ plan." This new architecture will help Ford China grow faster and more efficiently. ”

It is understood that in April 2019, Ford China released the "2.0 Strategic Plan" and released a new slogan for the Ford brand: "More Ford, More China". At present, the strategic plan is also being steadily implemented.

The above-mentioned person in charge of Ford China further said: "Relying on The advantages of China's rapid growth market and ecosystem, we have established four clear business units: passenger cars, electric vehicles, Lincoln and commercial vehicles, as well as the launch of the Ford Select high-end intelligent electric vehicle exclusive brand, with a comprehensively upgraded user experience, directly to the customer to sell high-end intelligent electric vehicles." ”

In addition, Ford China's comprehensive layout of China's innovation center, design center, product center and new energy center have all been completed and opened. The person in charge of Ford China said: "The Ford China '2.0 Strategic Plan', which is guided by the Ford+ plan, will focus more deeply on the rapid development and upgrading of the three major areas of electrification, intelligence and customer experience, launch more products and technologies that meet the needs of the Chinese market, and create a full-time and all-round customer relationship and brand experience." ”

The reporter learned that the domestic version of the world's first smart pure electric SUV Mustang Mach-E launched by Ford motor vehicle for the needs of the Chinese market has been officially delivered to consumers at the end of 2021. It is reported that the electrification team of Ford's China Product Center has completed the local adaptation and engineering research and development tests of the model.

"While retaining the original performance performance, in response to the needs of Chinese consumers, Ford China's engineering team has carried out a fine adaptation of the kinetic energy recovery and friction braking system to the Mustang Mach-E, specially optimized the kinetic energy recovery logic, so that the intervention of energy recovery is more relaxed, rather than blunt and direct, so that the two systems can cooperate seamlessly, providing linear foot-feeling feedback and stable braking force throughout the process." Ford China said.

At the same time, in the areas of artificial intelligence technology, digital technology, product and service experience, Ford China's product team continues to innovate around the needs of Chinese consumers and technology trends, including the full launch of SYNC+2.0 Intelligent Mobility Interconnection System in the new model series, the new BlueCruise L2+ level active driving assistance and other initiatives.

It is worth noting that while the intelligent automotive industry is developing rapidly, it has also bred problems such as user data leakage. How will Ford keep users' data safe? The above-mentioned person in charge of Ford China said that Ford collects and stores vehicle data and user personal information in accordance with China's laws and regulations, and protects user information throughout the entire life cycle of data, including data generation, application and destruction.

"Ford will comply with the requirements of laws and regulations for the collection of data, inform and be authorized by users, and the personal information of users collected will also be protected by encryption and desensitization in accordance with the requirements of laws and regulations." Therefore, even if the data is unfortunately stolen, it will be a string of invalid data for cyber hackers. The person in charge said.

(Editor: Zhang Jiazhen Proofreader: Yan Yuxia)