Photo: Ford
Ford just announced a major shift in its business strategy that includes splitting itself into two distinct entities. Under the new plan, the electric vehicles business unit Model e will gain precedence over Ford Blue, which will continue to handle the ICE vehicle business. As such, Ford will implement cutting-edge measures from its electric business to optimize its ICE business.
With the new business plan, Ford acknowledges a major difference between building EVs and building everything else. Ford is willing to learn from the experience with the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning and bring the best bits of wisdom to its legacy assembly plants and ICE lineup. One of the first measures Ford might take is to extend the F-150 Lightning's limited options to other F-Series vehicles.
Ford hinted at dropping cab configurations and options complexity from the F-Series trucks. After all, the F-150 Lightning is doing just fine with very limited options, especially when it comes to body style configurations. This allows for tremendous efficiency in the manufacturing process and also down the line in simplifying dealer inventories.
“It surprised even us that the F-150 Lightning generated 200,000 reservations with one cab, one box, 4×4, those are the truck choices, and standard and long-range battery,” said Lisa Drake, vice president for EV industrialization, Ford Model e, according to Ford Authority. “200,000 units at scale on one body style configuration. That is going to unlock amazing efficiency through the process. And when we learn those things, we will then apply them back to Ford Blue. This is this complementary work that we see between these two organizations and I’m super excited to get started.”
Of course, this does not mean per se that Ford will cut on cab and body options for their hugely popular F-Series lineup. But it’s safe to say Ford noticed that SuperCrew, four-wheel-drive pickups tend to dominate the sales charts these days. The other configurations, however useful they might be, are more like clutter that raises the costs of building and stocking for everyone.
Ford, like the rest of the industry, seems to be moving towards a build-to-order model that will see pared-down dealer inventories and less complexity. It has also indicated in the past the willingness to simplify the lineup. For instance, the 2022 Ford Super Duty King Ranch and Platinum trims are only available with the four-wheel-drive now.
Ford hinted at dropping cab configurations and options complexity from the F-Series trucks. After all, the F-150 Lightning is doing just fine with very limited options, especially when it comes to body style configurations. This allows for tremendous efficiency in the manufacturing process and also down the line in simplifying dealer inventories.
“It surprised even us that the F-150 Lightning generated 200,000 reservations with one cab, one box, 4×4, those are the truck choices, and standard and long-range battery,” said Lisa Drake, vice president for EV industrialization, Ford Model e, according to Ford Authority. “200,000 units at scale on one body style configuration. That is going to unlock amazing efficiency through the process. And when we learn those things, we will then apply them back to Ford Blue. This is this complementary work that we see between these two organizations and I’m super excited to get started.”
Of course, this does not mean per se that Ford will cut on cab and body options for their hugely popular F-Series lineup. But it’s safe to say Ford noticed that SuperCrew, four-wheel-drive pickups tend to dominate the sales charts these days. The other configurations, however useful they might be, are more like clutter that raises the costs of building and stocking for everyone.
Ford, like the rest of the industry, seems to be moving towards a build-to-order model that will see pared-down dealer inventories and less complexity. It has also indicated in the past the willingness to simplify the lineup. For instance, the 2022 Ford Super Duty King Ranch and Platinum trims are only available with the four-wheel-drive now.
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