Ford stock has been on a roll in recent months as the automaker’s electrification plans and bevy of well-received new vehicle releases have caused Wall Street analysts to improve their short- and long-term outlooks. Ford CEO Jim Farley can rightfully take credit for much of this turnaround, as he has implemented a number of changes at the automaker since taking the helm last fall. For those reasons and more, Farley has also made the Bloomberg 50 list, which honors the folks that deserve recognition for their achievements each year.
Bloomberg called out a number of pivotal moves Jim Farley made during 2021, starting with his decision to Increase the automaker’s investment in EVs from $22 billion to $30 billion through 2025. FoMoCo’s first new EV – the Ford Mustang Mach-E – has enjoyed tremendous success throughout the year, and the 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning and Ford E-Transit will both launch in the coming months. Farley also recently set an ambitious goal to produce 600,000 EVs per year by 2024 as well.
Ford Ion Park – a facility designed to facilitate R&D initiatives on battery production – was announced earlier this year, along with BlueOvalSK, a joint venture between Ford and SK Innovation that includes the construction of two upcoming facilities expected to come online in 2025. Meanwhile, Ford continues to look toward the future with a recent investment in Solid Power, a producer of solid-state batteries.
Meanwhile, Ford continues to invest in self-driving technology spearheaded by its subsidiary, Argo AI, and has reaped the benefits of an investment in Rivian, even though Farley chose not to move forward with the development of a Blue Oval vehicle on the upstart EV automaker’s Skateboard platform. At the same time, Ford has poached an number of key executives from other companies in recent months, including the former head of development for the upcoming Apple car, Doug Field.
These are just a few of the many key strategic moves Jim Farley has made in the last year or so, all of which have earned him the admiration of Wall Street and the business world alike.
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Comments
Way to go Jim! And he races too!
Let’s see where he’s at when he rolls out all these appliances that so few people want. It’s easy to put Ford back on the so called map with the Bronco and Maverick coming out. There’s 1 car, he reneged on moving new production back to the US and kept some and added others to Mexico. And as much as they can to China. Hardly something to be saluted for. Odd that there’s hardly any chips for the best selling trucks, but plenty of chips for the Broncos, Mavericks and the fat Appliance.