Ford CEO Jim Farley has earned his fair share of accolades in recent months, including the 2021 Carroll Shelby Spirit Award and a spot on the Bloomberg 50 list. Farley has also been the catalyst behind Ford’s stock resurgence over the past year-plus, becoming the darling of Wall Street thanks to his forward-thinking electrification plans. Now, Jim Farley has yet another trophy to add to his growing case after being named the 2022 MotorTrend Person of the Year.
“When Farley took over, Ford was perceived as having lost its way and fallen behind the competition, with weak leadership, a frustrating lack of transparency, and scant details behind vague promises that it had a plan and the right vehicles to remain competitive,” MotorTrend said. “Now, Ford’s product pipeline has never looked better; it includes a lot of game-changers.”
MT points to a host of successful product debuts that have happened on Farley’s watch, including the Ford Mustang Mach-E, Ford Bronco, Ford Bronco Sport, and Ford Maverick. It also looks ahead to the ever-important Ford F-150 Lightning, set to launch in the spring, future commercial products like the Lightning Pro and E-Transit, and autonomous vehicles and potentially lucrative services and features like BlueCruise as reasons for the automaker’s big turnaround.
On the EV side of things, Ford has quickly pivoted from its reluctance to manufacture batteries by forging a partnership with SK Innovation to create a joint venture called BlueOvalSK. The automaker has gone from having no real EV plan to developing multiple new models in a short period of time, with many more planned for the coming years.
“Farley brings critical clarity to the job,” MotorTrend said. “He is clear and direct, refreshing after years of muddled messages that frustrated Wall Street, and the company’s stock price has grown significantly under his tenure. The CEO has gained maturity in his leadership style, which has been bombastic at times. He has also shown the ability to revise plans as needed to meet market demands and swim in the fast current of change.”
“Many executives have tried to improve Ford over the years, few with the luxury of sitting back and watching the hits and money roll in. Farley’s moves early in his tenure, built on top of his contributions in other roles over the years, have exceeded expectations in a short time. Ford is in the midst of a stunning recovery and transformation, an incredible shift for a legacy carmaker that has all but stopped making actual cars, as opposed to trucks and SUVs. Farley is the right man for Ford’s top job, and he is the 2022 MotorTrend Person of the Year.”
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Comments
Well, it’ll certainly be interesting to see how he grows or doesn’t in the position, and if his decisions help position the company as time moves forward.
Ford’s recent new products have been real hits, and obviously these vehicles were approved and already being developed under Hackett (w/Farley part of the leadership team). So we need to give the former CEO some kudos too. That being said, Farley is the right guy at the right time IMO. He certainly deserves credit for pushing forward on the electric front. Yet to be known however, is can he straighten out Ford’s product launches, reduce recalls and lower overall warranty costs? We need consistent quality and reliability across the lineup. Let’s take Consumer Reports for example, even if the methods they use to determine reliability are dubious, we can’t have the Explorer sitting at the very bottom of their ratings. Nor can we have the mediocrity it represented in its 2020 redesign (same with the Escape). Never mind the botched launch, which unfortunately included its Lincoln cousin.
I think one of the most telling comments from Mr. Farley has been his recognition that ICE vehicles still have a place, especially in more rural areas and for certain commercial users. EV’s may be the future, but they’re not for everyone just yet.
I agree completely. This morning’s front page headline on the Wall Street Journal? “Lithium’s Price Rise Stokes Supply Concerns”. Expect prices to increase dramatically as demand soars for EV production; prices are already up and there’s little relief in sight. Increasing supply will be hampered too as regulators and environmentalists may cripple future mining and refinement capacity of this metal. ICE and hybrid vehicles need to stay in the mix.
why are you not advertising the 2022 f-150 as I just ordered one and you are being very tight lipped about any changes also no photos could it be that you are protected remaining 2021 inventory .
I would like to know how much longer I have to wait for my ford tourneo connect active, ordered in March and I’ve been told after several knock backs that I now won’t get a build date until February next year! Don’t keep going on about the semiconductor shortage because ford seems to find them for their top of the range vehicles. I have been a ford customer for many years but after this I doubt I will be back again given the poor delivery date and numerous excuses.