Photo: Ford
Way back in 2018, when then Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Hackett announced the company was investing $11 billion by 2022 in Electric vehicle technology, there were skeptics abound.
Backed by the Ford family and chairman William Ford Jr., the company embraced a dramatic shift in the company's business model not seen since the first Model A rolled off the Mack Avenue Plant assembly line over 100 years ago.
The company was feeling the pressure created by the likes of Tesla to reconceptualize their lineup of cars and trucks for the future. As the former leader of GE, Jack Welch, once said, "change before you have to," Ford did just that by ditching its passenger vehicle lineup in favor of SUVs and crossover vehicles. The initial plans involved manufacturing a fully-electric Ford F-150 pick-up and a Mustang-inspired electric crossover.
Fast forward to today, now led by CEO Jim Farley, the reality of those plans is in full swing, gaining momentum, and more important to investors, market share. Last year saw Ford become the second leading seller of electric vehicles behind Tesla, with sales of the Mustang Mach e reaching 27,140. So far in 2022, EV crossover sales are up 50% from last year, and June was the best sales month yet.
Ford now operates as two entities, Ford Blue and Ford e, dedicated to the future of electric mobility. Plans to sell 600,000 electric vehicles by the end of 2023 and two million per year by 2026 are bolstered by spending tens of millions of dollars to expand factories in the Midwest and battery plants in Kentucky and Tennessee with partner SK Innovation Company (a South Korean-based technology company formed in 2007 according to Forbes).
By April of this year, the Ford Lightning pick-up (the electric version of the Ford F-150 pick, the best-selling pick-up in the U.S. for the last 40 years) had over 200,000 confirmed orders. This after Ford initially planned to build just 40,000 trucks annually.
Further evidence the Dearborn-based legacy U.S. automaker known worldwide as 'Big Blue' is fully committed to its EV business is a report that Ford is pursuing trademark status for Maverick Lightning and Ranger Lightning in Europe.
The company was feeling the pressure created by the likes of Tesla to reconceptualize their lineup of cars and trucks for the future. As the former leader of GE, Jack Welch, once said, "change before you have to," Ford did just that by ditching its passenger vehicle lineup in favor of SUVs and crossover vehicles. The initial plans involved manufacturing a fully-electric Ford F-150 pick-up and a Mustang-inspired electric crossover.
Fast forward to today, now led by CEO Jim Farley, the reality of those plans is in full swing, gaining momentum, and more important to investors, market share. Last year saw Ford become the second leading seller of electric vehicles behind Tesla, with sales of the Mustang Mach e reaching 27,140. So far in 2022, EV crossover sales are up 50% from last year, and June was the best sales month yet.
Ford now operates as two entities, Ford Blue and Ford e, dedicated to the future of electric mobility. Plans to sell 600,000 electric vehicles by the end of 2023 and two million per year by 2026 are bolstered by spending tens of millions of dollars to expand factories in the Midwest and battery plants in Kentucky and Tennessee with partner SK Innovation Company (a South Korean-based technology company formed in 2007 according to Forbes).
By April of this year, the Ford Lightning pick-up (the electric version of the Ford F-150 pick, the best-selling pick-up in the U.S. for the last 40 years) had over 200,000 confirmed orders. This after Ford initially planned to build just 40,000 trucks annually.
Further evidence the Dearborn-based legacy U.S. automaker known worldwide as 'Big Blue' is fully committed to its EV business is a report that Ford is pursuing trademark status for Maverick Lightning and Ranger Lightning in Europe.
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