Ford is investing just under €18 billion extra in the electrification of all cars that the brand makes, reports news agency Bloomberg based on insiders. That amount comes on top of a previously announced investment of more than €26 billion and is to be spent over the next five to ten years on the conversion of factories for building electric cars.
Doug Field, who previously held senior positions at Apple and Tesla, would lead the major reorganization. This also includes the fact that Ford will recruit an unknown number of technicians. These should focus on, among other things, battery technology, software for electric vehicles and artificial intelligence.
Furthermore, Ford would look at whether it is possible to put part of its EV branch on its own feet. Through an IPO or sale of a stake to investors, the American automaker could profit from the high valuations that investors and investors attribute to companies for electric cars. This would mainly concern models of which fewer units are sold. Ford could then focus entirely on the so-called volume models.
Despite the additional investment and a desire to become a major player in electric vehicles, Ford CEO Jim Farley sees gasoline-powered cars as vital to his company for many years to come. The money for investments therein must be earned by offering Ford drivers, for example, software upgrades, which give their cars more power or other extra options for a fee. The company should also try to allow its customers to come to Ford dealers for maintenance longer.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl