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New Ford CEO Wants Affordable Cars, EV Range to Include More SUVs and Lincolns

While the Blue Oval has only had eleven chief executive officers in its entire 117-year existence, the truth is the pace of changeover has accelerated lately, with Jim Farley quickly succeeding Jim Hackett (CEO from 2017) and Mark Fields (appointed in 2014). He took over on October 1st, and his plans include major structural changes, as well as lofty goals.
Ford CEO Jim Farley 11 photos
Photo: Ford Motor Company
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Primarily, Farley’s new position will be strengthened with a few key helping hands – John Lawler has already been appointed as the new CFO, and the strategy will also include new names for the CIO (Chief Information Officer) and CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) positions as soon as possible.

They are needed to form a strong leadership team as the new CEO has a tremendous task at hand – Ford clearly needs to succeed in turning around its ailing automotive operations, and aims for “adjusted earnings before interest and taxes of 8% of revenue” - though without providing a specific time schedule.

He will also investigate the needed course of action to seriously improve quality, lower overall costs, as well as hasten the restructuring of the company’s underperforming operations.

Most importantly, under his leaderships, customers might see even more interesting apparitions from the Blue Oval in the commercial vehicle sector, newly introduced vehicles that are more affordable than today (both on a global and North American level), as well as an expanded range of electric vehicles.

The latter is touted to include “uniquely Ford fully electric vehicles” that will be offered at scale on a worldwide level. The model lines slotted for EV propulsion are quite interesting - Transit, F-Series, Mustang, more SUVs, and models from the Lincoln brand.

New operational changes include the re-focus of “decision-making and accountability around product and customer groups” for just three business divisions: The Americas and International Markets; Europe; and China. Also, as is the case with every other automaker, Ford is looking to innovate and lead in the fields of autonomous vehicles, connectivity, industrial platforms, technology, and software.
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About the author: Aurel Niculescu
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Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution.
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