Centennial Ford "Elephant Turn": Accelerate and Run Electrified Track

Ford, which has a history of more than 100 years, is driving into the electrification track in order to seize the opportunity in the transformation and upgrading.

On March 14, Ford Motor motor said it would launch seven pure electric vehicles in the European market and planned to sell more than 600,000 electric vehicles in the European market by 2026. In addition, Ford motor will establish battery assembly bases and nickel battery production joint ventures in Germany and Turkey respectively to accelerate its position in the European electric vehicle market.

At the beginning of March, Ford Motor co., Ltd. announced the establishment of an independently operated electric vehicle and fuel vehicle business unit in order to fully compete with competitors in these two major areas, of which the fuel vehicle business unit is called "Ford Blue" and the electric vehicle business unit is called "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 in an interview with The China Business Daily that Ford Blue and Ford Model e will operate as independent business units, but will also share some related technologies and practical applications to form a scale benefit to promote the continuous improvement of operational efficiency.

Zhang Xiang, a researcher at the Automotive Industry Innovation Research Center of North China University of Technology, told reporters: "Ford Motor's strategy of separating the fuel vehicle business and 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."

On the reasons for the spin-off of the automotive business unit, Jim Farley said: "We have made tremendous 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. ”

"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 bound 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 have dreamed of, such as Ford Bronco." Jim Farley further said.

It is understood 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.

Jim Farley said, "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. ”

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."

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, 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 concurrently 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 are building a business organization that leverages the experience and capabilities that Ford has built up over the years, while also being able to act quickly and ambitiously 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 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 launches Ford F-150, Ford Muskang, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Ford EVOS, Ford Explorer, Ford Edge Plus, Ford Trailbladder 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. The electrification team at Ford's China Product Center completed local adaptation and engineering R&D testing of the model.

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 above-mentioned person in charge said.