Ford China Exec Lyle Watters To Retire

August 12, 2024 12:19 pm

Ford China has been in a state of transformation since Sam Wu was named as that entity’s new president and CEO last year, with much of this shift coming from its vehicle lineup. Rather than design and build vehicles specifically for Chinese customers as it had done in the past, Ford China is now focused on selling existing models there – albeit, some of which are being built locally, regardless. Now, Ford China is undergoing another big executive shakeup following the retirement of a long-time employee.

That employee is Lyle Watters, who is currently the vice president and general manager of passenger vehicles for Ford China, though the exec has now decided to retire after 37 years with The Blue Oval. Watters originally joined Ford back in 1987 as part of the company’s UK-based finance team, and has held a number of other positions over the past nearly four decades. Most recently, Watters was responsible for Ford-branded vehicles in China, including leading the Changan Ford joint venture, Jiangling Ford Technologies, and Ford China operations including supply chain, manufacturing, new model launches, and quality.

“Lyle has had an incredible career over more than three and a half decades,” said Sam Wu. “His contributions to Ford Motor Company over this time have been immense and I am personally grateful to Lyle for his support and wise counsel since I joined the Company two years ago.” Waters plans to return to the UK following his retirement next month, while his responsibilities will be realigned within the Ford China business.

The newest Ford China lineup is a simpler, pared-down list of vehicles with an increasing focus on off-road models, which have become more popular as of late. After handing over the struggling Ford Mustang Mach-E to the Changan Ford joint venture, the automaker has also launched both the Ford Bronco and Ford Ranger in China, which are being manufactured locally, but otherwise aren’t much different than their U.S.-based counterparts.

We’ll have more on Ford’s executive shakeups as they happen, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for ongoing Ford news coverage.

By Brett Foote

Brett's lost track of all the Fords he's owned over the years and how much he's spent modifying them, but his current money pits include an S550 Mustang and 13th gen F-150.