Ford Motor today announced that its electric vehicle business unit and traditional internal combustion engine business unit will operate as independent entities to promote the development of electric vehicle business and catch up with Tesla, the industry leader.
In addition, Ford still predicts that the adjusted EBIT for the whole year will range from US $11.5 billion to US $12.5 billion. It is expected to invest US $5 billion in new energy vehicles in 2022, and plans to build a production capacity of 2 million new energy vehicles per year by 2026.
Ford said it had reorganized its automotive business into two different businesses - one focused on producing cars and committed to maximizing profits, and the other was responsible for developing and accelerating the production of electric vehicles as much as possible in order to achieve further rapid growth.
Ford CEO Jim Farley said in an interview that these two businesses require different skills and ways of thinking. If they are still part of an organization, they will conflict and hinder everyone. "You can't succeed and beat Tesla in this way."
Sales of battery powered cars are rising rapidly, and Mr Farley and other auto executives see this trend as the industry's biggest disruption since Henry Ford launched mass production and Model T cars in 1908. Including Ford, general motors, Toyota, Volkswagen and other traditional manufacturers are spending tens of billions of dollars to launch new models, build battery plants, and develop new energy models, such as Tesla's advanced driving assistance system and vehicle engine system.
Mr Farley said Ford would spend $50 billion on electric vehicles between 2022 and 2026. The company had previously planned to invest $30 billion over the five years to 2025. It plans to spend $5 billion on electric vehicles this year, double the total in 2021.
It house once reported that Ford CEO Jim Farley denied such plans to the media just last week. He said that the company has too many staff, too much investment, too complex business and lack of professional knowledge in asset transformation; He also believes that in order to achieve the profit margin of electric vehicles, as we see in companies like Tesla, we need real experts to promote this scale, such as hiring more professionals in the fields of electrical components, advanced electrical architecture and digital customer experience.
Ford's move echoed plans released earlier this month by French carmaker Renault, which said it was considering establishing an independent department for its electric and fuel vehicle businesses. The company said that the electric vehicle business may be concentrated in France, while the fuel vehicle business may be more outside France.
