In the electric vehicle strategy competition, Ford has caught up with or even surpassed General Motors in the past year. "Our journey has just begun and the destination is still far away," Ford CEO Jim Farley told analysts on Thursday's conference call
Ford turned loss into profit in 2021, with net income of $17.9 billion, but about half of it was the book income of $8.2 billion from the investment in rivian, an electric truck startup. The value of this investment has shrunk by about 40% in the sharp decline in the stock market this year, and the related profits are lower than analysts' forecasts.
Ford's prospects are mixed. Ford said it expected that after excluding one-time items, the pre tax profit this year would increase by 15% to 25% from the previous year to $11.5 billion to $12.5 billion. Ford expects global vehicle delivery to grow by 10% - 15% this year, which is far lower than the 25% - 30% growth expected by general motors on Tuesday.
Last year, Ford's Mustang mach-e was crowned the best-selling electric vehicle in the United States, beating the leader Tesla and the bolt recalled by General Motors due to fire risk.
In January this year, General Motors released a new electric Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck, which triggered a heated discussion on the future competitor of the truck, Ford F-150 lightning. The new pickup is expected to be launched in early 2023 as part of GM's global product line electrification plan to get rid of the gasoline engines that have long powered its cars and trucks.
GM previously said that compared with Ford Trucks and other models in the fledgling electric pickup market, the Silverado EV will be equipped with more high-tech functions and a range of about 400 miles.
However, Ford's F-150 lightning truck will be limited in sales this spring, about a year before GM's Silverado ev.
At the same time, the century long competition between general motors and Ford is entering the era of electric vehicles. Both have huge assets and cash flow. With the expansion of the market, they can compete well with Tesla.
According to Morgan Stanley, Tesla's revenue in 2027 will exceed that of General Motors and Ford combined. Tesla's market share in the United States will reach 10% by 2026 and nearly 18% by 2030; In terms of sales, its market share will reach 10% by 2025 and 23% by 2030. According to the report, GM's share of the U.S. market is expected to fall from 14.6% to 14% by 2025 and less than 12% by 2030; Ford's market share will fall from the current 12.5% to just over 10% by 2030. In the long run, both GM and Ford need to make major changes to their business models in order to occupy a place in the electric vehicle market.
