Ford will separate its EV business into a separate division. The American car manufacturer presents this in the ‘Ford +’ plan. The new department will be called ‘Model e’. With this step, Ford wants to further accelerate the development of electric cars.
The reorganization follows earlier reports that Ford is investing more than €44 billion in the electrification of all cars that the brand makes. Then it was also rumored that Ford was looking at possibilities to put its EV branch on its own feet. CEO Jim Farley initially denied this, but now he is coming back to it. Ford has announced that the EV department will be called ‘Model e’ and will be separated from the department responsible for combustion engines. The latter department will now be called ‘Ford Blue’. Both departments will have their own manager, for the electrical branch Doug Field will be responsible. He previously held senior positions at Apple and Tesla.
Model e will not only be responsible for electric powertrains, but also for new software platforms and the online sales of vehicles. The new department has a big task, because by 2026 Ford wants to produce 2 million EVs per year, by the end of this decade the electric cars should account for half of Ford’s total production volume. Ford Blue’s goal is to increase the profitability of its combustion engine models, including by reducing costs and simplifying business processes. The Ford Pro commercial vehicle division will continue to exist alongside these two divisions.
With the operational division, CEO Farley wants to give the technicians of both departments more freedom. In principle, the departments operate independently of each other, but do share technology and knowledge in certain areas. Each department also reports profits and losses separately so Ford can better monitor business performance. Incidentally, Ford emphasizes that both departments are not separately registered on the stock exchange.
Ford’s announcement comes a day after Stellantis’ large-scale electrification plan. That wants to have 25 different EVs on the road in America by the end of this decade. Ford is also ahead of Stellantis in America: the F-150 Lightning will go into production this year, while the electric Ram 1500 will have to wait until 2024. With that, Ford seems to have already won one important battle.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl