It wasn’t too terribly long ago that Ford – like many automakers – was keen to invest heavily in all-electric vehicles and related battery technology, with plans to vastly expand its offerings in that regard and ramp up EV production in a big way. Trouble is, consumer demand for EVs hasn’t quite expanded at the pace those companies expected as of late, even though sales continue to grow. Thus, Ford shifted its strategy and will instead offer a diverse array of powertrain options, with folks like Executive Chairman Bill Ford continuing to state that the automaker isn’t trying to force anyone to buy an EV – a sentiment he recently reiterated yet again.
“It’s interesting. I think regulatory demands got ahead of where customers’ demand was in many markets, that’s for sure,” Bill Ford recently told the media in Australia, according to CarExpert. “Not all markets, but many markets. I would say this: electrification is marching on. It is getting market share around the world, we are betting on electrification. But it’s not right for everybody. It’s not one size fits all.”
“For some applications, it’s fantastic. For others, less so. And that’s why it was really important for us – and we did this very intentionally – to place our bets across a wide variety of powertrains. I can tell you, after 122 years of business, we never get it exactly right. So for us, flexibility was very important. And I think that’s even more so today. Electrification is happening, it’s not happening in the way many of the regulators thought it was going to happen. One thing we know is when you do the research, people who have EVs really like them and they don’t want to go back.”
Ford previously stated that he believes EVs have become too politicized, which is at least partly to blame for softened demand. However, the other problem pertains to current battery technology, which Ford has deemed not feasible for larger vehicles – particularly those that need to tow and haul heavy loads across longer distances. That’s precisely why Ford CEO Jim Farley recently stated that he believes the “sweet spot” for EVs at the moment is smaller crossovers and pickups, in fact.
Comments
How its should always had been.
IF I want to buy a Mustang GT coupe with a manual transmission in 2055, i should have all the right to. Im 30 I shouldnt be forced to buy NPC EVs.
Well…. He is forcing them on the incremental lease people. Correct?
“We’re not ‘forcing’ EVs on anyone, you just can’t buy the ICE vehicles you want to any more. And we’re going to ‘replace’ the ICE vehicles you want to buy with an inferior EV.”
That is forcing people to buy what they DON’T want!
I will buy the car I want with them engine I want,
or I will rebuild an engine or replace the motor that is in what I buy.
Maybe you should concentrate on quality that has gone to hell and not trying to Force people to buy something they don’t want!
Also you are selling overpriced $hit at this point!
Force? No, but they are aligning the price of ICE vehicles with the EV’s. Jacking the V8 Mustang price to rival the MachE is to make the consumer seem to be the reason for the elimination of the V8. “ Sales fell so we eliminated the a V8”. This is what the plan is.
So stop building EVs, then, Bill. Duh.
Build the Capri and Puma EVs here and we’ll see if “nobody wants them”. There is NO competition for affordable EVs right now.
So TRUE!!
FORD destroyed the decades of loyalty they build in the Capri alone!
Who the hell wants another SUV or CUV?
No one that’s why sale suck!
At some point the haters are going to have to accept that you don’t have a “right” to buy anything from a company, and if they want to do something different they can
I think Bill and Jim are doing a great job managing this and can’t wait to pickup my Mach-E as a complement to the Edge and 04 Mustang. Buying more stock, too
Spoke to a Ford service department about mach e and batteries, he said they have been replacing sections of battery, apparently 4 per pack under warranty at a cost of $5,000 each! Ok, that’s $20k per battery!!!! Am I going to buy an EV? Hell no!!! Still driving my 2015 f150 Ecoboost with no major problems and of course my 1973 f100 still soldiers on! Will a Mach e be around 52 years later? Ha,Ha,Ha 😂😂😂😂😂
Customers aren’t “born” loyal.
They’re grown and nurtured to become one….
Let’s be clear. While Ford may be making the business decisions, they are attempting to respond to two very diverse inputs: customer desires and government regulation. This ultimately results in the schizophrenic-like offerings from a company that’s trying still be profitable while bowing to two masters with mutually exclusive demands. We see the results and no one ends up pleased in the end.
Really, the easier problem for Ford to solve right now is to get their design and quality problems under control. If they can’t make products that aren’t subject to multiple recalls and regularly in the shop due to failures, then trying to appease either their customers demands or government mandates won’t matter.