mobile-menu-icon
Ford Authority

Ford May Spend $20 Billion Extra, Spin Off EV Operations With New Plan

Ford Motor Company is hardly standing still in regards to its EV transition plan. As Ford Authority previously reported, in May 2021, The Blue Oval announced its intention to increase its EV investment from $22 billion to $30 billion by 2025. While those are hardly figures to sneeze at, it appears that things have changed in Dearborn, as Bloomberg is reporting that the automaker is planning to kick things up a notch, in terms of its financial outlay for EV development and the very structure of the company itself. If all components of the plan come to fruition, the company would be adding an additional $20 billion to its EV spending to convert more assembly plants to produce fully electric vehicles and spinning off some of its operations to garner increased favor from Wall Street.

The plan, which appears to lack solid details at this juncture, is the brainchild of Doug Field, who joined the company last fall as its chief technology and embedded systems officer. The exec did time at both Apple and Tesla, and is apparently concocting the new EV investment and reorganization framework based on actions the latter company has already embarked upon. In terms of straight cash, the new plan would see the automaker spend between $10 billion to $20 billion on top of previously announced financial commitments, in an effort to convert more plants to EV production. In addition to a hiring spree to recruit more engineers, the plan might also involve a partial spinoff of its EV business, a move designed to attract more investors into the fold. That spinoff would apparently involve low volume vehicles, as opposed to more mainstream EVs underneath the traditional corporate umbrella.

This latest report arrives not long after the company outlined an expansion of its EV production goals. As Ford Authority previously reported, it is planning to produce 600,000 EVs globally by 2024. In tandem with that targeted figure are plans to scale up production of the Ford Mustang Mach-E to 200,000 units per year by 2023 and the Ford F-150 Lightning to 150,000 units per year by 2024. Additionally, Ford Europe will soon begin producing small EVs based on the VW MEB platform, with plans for that market to fully transition away from gasoline powered vehicles before 2030. Currently, The Blue Oval has no concrete timeframe as to when North America would go fully electric, but it is primarily focused on EVs rated at under 8,000 pounds for their gross vehicle weight ratings.

Additionally, the company will focus on its core “icons” and commercial vehicle lineups when it comes to converting its product range to fully electric power. At the moment, two dedicated EV platforms with proprietary Ford IonBoost technology is envisioned for those vehicles, which likely include stalwarts like the Ford Explorer. The Blue Oval has largely hitched its wagon to South Korean battery manufacturer SK Innovation for the crucial EV components and revealed plans to spend $7 billion on three plants for the express purpose of supplying batteries for the company’s entire North American EV lineup starting in 2025. The company’s ultimate goal is a $20k EV.

We’ll have more on this breaking news soon, so subscribe to Ford Authority for continuous Ford news coverage.

Ed owns a 1986 Ford Taurus LX, and he routinely daydreams about buying another one, a fantasy that may someday become a reality.

Subscribe to Ford Authority

For around-the-clock Ford news coverage

We'll send you one email per day with the latest Ford updates. It's totally free.

Comments

  1. Great to move to EVs gaming more traction. My only concern is that my Mustang Mach E will lose its uniqueness!🙂

    Reply
  2. Can someone explain this to me? What do they mean by “spin off”?

    Reply
    1. They create a new separate subsidiary for EV’s…

      Reply
  3. I think the hybrid approach is the best way to go until a broad solution to fast charging EV’s.

    Reply
  4. The Edge would be the perfect size vehicle to go EV, yet Ford has announced the end of production of this popular vehicle.

    Reply
    1. I am certain that Edge would not have been discontinued if it had remained “popular”.

      Reply
      1. The Edge was the 4th best selling mid size SUV behind the Grand Cherokee – Highlander, and Explorer last year. It beat all the Kia’s Hyundai’s, Honda’s, Chevy’s and the rest. It’s a bit off from its peak years but still “Popular” more so than all but 2 other brands.

        Reply
  5. They better wait to see if these appliances even sell. The few people I know that signed up for the F150 appliance just plan to flip it to some fool that wants to impress their neighbor. I’d never buy an electric van because of the range. I can imagine asking a customer if I could plug in my truck while I work on their a/c.

    Reply
    1. Is this still true, must wait a year to (edit: resale to be “resell”) a Lightning?
      (Ford Authority had this article on Jan 7, 2022; haven’t been able to include link in my reply):
      2022 Ford F-150 Lightning Will Come With One Year No-Sale Provision

      Reply
  6. I am wishing for a plug in hybrid Maverick. Instead I find I cannot even order a hybrid ’22, much less expect to see a plug in soon.

    Reply
    1. I am waiting for the same thing. I have a 96 Ranger Splash and was looking to replace it with something new, and when the Maverick came along, I thought perfect. Wrong. Never get a hybrid for years, and an ICE, if you can find one on a dealer lot, it will cost you. Guess my next vehicle will not be a Ford because cannot wait.

      Reply

Leave a comment

Cancel