Ford Vice Chair John Lawler Says More Partnerships On The Way

Amid the ongoing not-quite pivot toward EVs and electrified vehicles, Ford has spent billions on scaling up production only to pull back on an approach that includes all types of vehicle propulsion technology. As the automaker grapples with how to navigate choppy waters while the Chinese automakers continue to rapidly grow and develop new technology, it appears comments offered by Ford Vice Chair John Lawler may offer a hint as to what Blue Oval enthusiasts can expect: more joint venture and partnerships.

At the Bank of America Securities 2025 Automotive Summit, Vice Chair John Lawler heavily suggest that Ford will explore more in-depth relationships with other companies due to the complexities of the challenges facing the automaker and the entire industry. “We have to think about the industry differently. We have to think about joint ventures, we have to think about partnerships. Maybe there’ll be consolidation, but if something doesn’t change, all of us can’t do all of this on our own, especially with what has been one of the largest profit pools and cash generators in this industry over the last 10 to 12 years drying up. So tectonic, yeah, tsunami, absolutely. So, we have to figure this out and that’s what I’m trying to do is figure out what our plays will be, how we work this.”

Lawler’s new role as vice chair is to spearhead the automaker’s strategic development globally and to tackle initiatives like partnerships, so his words carry weight and almost certainly means Ford will either strengthen preexisting agreements or look into forming relationships with new companies down the line.

Perhaps the most notable partnership over the last five years is agreement between Ford and VW that enabled the former company to build the Ford Explorer EV and Ford Capri with the German automaker’s EV platform. Both companies are currently producing vehicles for each other, as VW currently offers the Ford Ranger based Amarok in Europe, while the current generation Ford Transit Connect is based on the VW Caddy. Ford also builds the VW Transporter, which is based on the Transit Custom midsize van.

As for other tie-ups, Ford is constructing BlueOval Battery Park Michigan as a facility owned by the automaker that will license technology from CATL –  a Chinese manufacturer of EV components. That plant is expected to come online in 2026. The automaker’s joint venture with South Korean conglomerate SK On is currently in motion as well, as the BlueOval SK facilities in Kentucky and Tennessee are currently scheduled to begin operations in 2025 and 2027, respectively. LG is also planning on moving Ford Mustang Mach-E battery production to Michigan this year.

Aside from these recent collaborations, Ford has been working with General Motors on transmissions for over twenty years now. More recently, Ford developed its 10-speed automatic transmission for its crosstown rival while receiving access to GM’s nine-speed automatic, which Ford engineered into the eight-speed automatic currently in use through the lineup.

The comments offered by John Lawler arrive after Ford CEO Jim Farley has signaled mixed thoughts on partnerships. In early 2024, Farley stated that more EV partnerships were likely and subsequently said that battery partnerships with rivals were one course of action he’d like to pursue. Last fall, he seemed to sour on the idea of additional EV partnerships altogether due to the complexity over electrical architectures. It seems the comments may be related to legal issues around electrical architectures exclusively used in China.