Over his years at the helm of The Blue Oval, Ford CEO Jim Farley has been a big proponent of performance-focused vehicles, which makes sense given his own love for racing. In fact, Farley has stated on multiple occasions that he doesn’t want Ford building “boring” cars, and instead of churning out countless commodity-focused products, he wants to make more exciting vehicles. As it turns out, at least part of that desire stems from the fact that Ford’s performance-focused models rake in big profits for the automaker, too.
“First of all, it’s [a] huge business. I mean, our off-road business alone is a huge percentage of our global profit, and it’s growing fast,” Farley told Yahoo Finance in a recent interview.
“People really love not just off-road products, but enthusiast off-road products like Raptor. These brands, this business, is a vital part of our revenue, our profit, but also our brand image.”
This revelation comes on the heels of quite a lot of news pertaining to Farley’s desire for Ford to become more of a performance-focused brand, in general. Just a few weeks ago, Farley stated that he envisions the automaker as becoming “the No. 1 undisputed off-road brand in the world,” as well as “the Porsche of off-road.” Additionally, in a separate interview, Farley also said that “the Raptor story is a great example of where I think our passenger cars should go,” hitting that we could one day see yet another expansion of that highly-successful – and profitable – brand.
If all of that isn’t enough of a hint as to which direction Ford is heading in, just last week, Farley noted that the brand is “in the middle of creating something,” asking out loud if that new product should be a standalone “off-road supercar,” which could also be more of an trail-friendly type vehicle than prior track-focused performance models like the Ford GT.
Comments
Big profits per unit but a small number of units fails the math test. Huge number of sales at lesser profits yields better results. Look at the mess Nissan is in after deciding to price on top of Toyota, for example. Lesser units at higher prices leads to near-bankruptcy.
Look who’s back WHINING about anything Ford-positive. You OK?
Can Ford not do both low volume Ford’s performance-focused models and high volume lesser profitable?
Keep up the complaining, its all you seem to do
Majority of persons cannot avoid the overpriced performance vehicles. Are not base models a boring vehicle but they continue to mass produce because of the demand?
Afford*
I think we can all guess that this is the reason that he just has “Bronco” on Broncos with no “Ford.” He wants it to be its own line, like RAM broke from Dodge.
Why is Farley have the ECU ‘s locked down in 2024. Not many want a 2024 that’s not faster, and more expensive than a 2023 model that is not accessible, other than Whipple. Ford needs to wake up and V8 everything. None of us want electric and maybe produce a lower priced V8 fox body mustang people can actually afford or modern equivalent
Yeah bring back the flathead V8
I have a 13′ Focus ST, the best car I ever owned. I added a Ford performance chip , 3″ stainless Cat back, and bigger air filter. I’ve always dreamed of having a high performance 4 cylinder car, and it was affordable. I want another one with even more power and rear wheel drive. Mustangs are great, but I want something more affordable. Ford? Please bring back the cars we really want
Race and win on Sunday, sell on Monday and PROFIT on Tuesday!!
Come on FOLKS….. Ya gotta have SPELL CHECK NOW DAY’S????!!!! Otherwise there are a FEW Schools that are STILL Open…
As far as FARLEY goes….. All those Performance Parts $$$$$$, We all know where they are headed????? Ya….. Right smack dab into BIG JIMS GOLDEN PARACHUTE. BTW…. Most of those Parts are Problematic and most likely will be causing Issues in the New ICE Vehicles.
I would like to own a good hi-performance car, but with all the hi-po Raptors, Mustangs, and all the Shelby versions, There’s now way most people that want one can afford one. Come on Ford, give us an affordable version.
Ford engineered parts are NOT problematic. They are designed by the folks that design, engineer and manufacture these vehicles. It’s a much safer bet to buy a FPP than a similar aftermarket piece. Read the two pages in their Performance Catalog titled: Tech Tips: Calibrated for Performance, Power Upgrades: Practice and Pitfalls for the details as to why.
Farley’s investment in electric vehicles was a huge mistake. He should be replaced. He has hurt Ford with his poor strategic vision and massive recalls.