Photo: Catalin Garmacea
In a bid to improve profitability, Ford announced at the first-quarter earnings meeting that it would have the freshest product lineup in North America by 2020. The most importang choice of words from the meeting is the following: “90 percent of the Ford portfolio in North America will be trucks, utilities, and commercial vehicles.” What that means is, this is a case of out with the old and in with the new.
Here’s another line from the Ford Motor Company: the “car portfolio in North America will transition to two vehicles – the best-selling Mustang and the all-new Focus Active crossover coming out next year.” In other words, prepare to bid farewell to just about everything from the Fiesta to the Taurus. Models that find themselves on the chopping block further include the Focus sedan and hatchback, C-Max, and Fusion. An aggressive strategy, but will it work out in the long run?
Based on how the market is going, it is the right decision for the Ford Motor Company. The Dearborn-based automaker will focus on electrification and utility vehicles, with hybridization confirmed for the F-150 pickup truck, Mustang pony car, Escape, Explorer, and the Bronco body-on-frame SUV. By 2022, the target is to bring 16 battery-electric vehicles to market, including the oft-mentioned Mach 1.
The 2020 targets of the Ford Motor Company are enabled by cost and efficiency opportunities estimated at $11.5 billion. It should be mentioned that the billions span the entire company, and include areas ranging from engineering to material cost. Capital efficiency, meanwhile, is anticipated to improve to $29 billion in the period from 2019 to 2022, a $5 billion improvement compared to the original sum.
“We are committed to taking the appropriate actions to drive profitable growth and maximize the returns of our business over the long term,” commented Jim Hackett, president and CEO of FoMoCo. “Where we can raise the returns of underperforming parts of our business by making them more fit, we will. If appropriate returns are not on the horizon, we will shift that capital to where we can play and win.”
Based on how the market is going, it is the right decision for the Ford Motor Company. The Dearborn-based automaker will focus on electrification and utility vehicles, with hybridization confirmed for the F-150 pickup truck, Mustang pony car, Escape, Explorer, and the Bronco body-on-frame SUV. By 2022, the target is to bring 16 battery-electric vehicles to market, including the oft-mentioned Mach 1.
The 2020 targets of the Ford Motor Company are enabled by cost and efficiency opportunities estimated at $11.5 billion. It should be mentioned that the billions span the entire company, and include areas ranging from engineering to material cost. Capital efficiency, meanwhile, is anticipated to improve to $29 billion in the period from 2019 to 2022, a $5 billion improvement compared to the original sum.
“We are committed to taking the appropriate actions to drive profitable growth and maximize the returns of our business over the long term,” commented Jim Hackett, president and CEO of FoMoCo. “Where we can raise the returns of underperforming parts of our business by making them more fit, we will. If appropriate returns are not on the horizon, we will shift that capital to where we can play and win.”
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