As Ford Authority reported earlier today, a rather large round of leadership changes are taking place at The Blue Oval – with many of them occurring on the electric vehicle-related side of the business. Both Chuck Gray, Ford Model e vice president, Vehicle Hardware Engineering, and Darren Palmer, vice president EV programs, are now retiring, notable because Palmer most recently played a crucial role in shaping Ford’s EV strategy, and was a founding member of Team Edison, which launched the Ford Mustang Mach-E, Ford F-150 Lightning, and E-Transit.
As many are likely already aware, Team Edison was created back in 2017 as a way to accelerate Ford’s electric ambitions, which were quite vast and broad in scope at the time. Ford wanted that crew to move fast and come together quickly to solve common problems as they pertained to the world of electrification, during a time when The Blue Oval and its peers were rushing to roll out new electric vehicles.
By all accounts, Team Edison achieved that mission, launching a trio of EVs to tremendous demand at first, though consumer preference has since shifted in a major way. Now, Ford is squarely focused on creating smaller, lower-cost electric vehicles riding on its new universal platform, starting with a mid-size pickup due to enter production next year. We first learned that Ford had created a new “skunkworks” team focused on this project roughly three years ago.
Now, Ford is betting the proverbial farm on its advanced electrical development team, operating out of California, with Vice Chair John Lawler recently stating that this outfit is “here to stay.” The Blue Oval views these efforts as critical to the company’s future amid hefty competition from China, and thus far, CEO Jim Farley has stated that it’s operating far more efficiently in terms of costs, too.
This shift in philosophy really began when Ford brought Doug Field as its new chief EV, digital and design officer a few years ago. Right off the bat, Field – a former Tesla and Apple exec – told Farley that Ford was 25 years behind its Chinese rivals, setting in motion a paradigm shift that now seems cemented, given this major changing of the guard.
Comments
Farley and Bunny Slippers are really who needs to get the boot
Electric cars are too expensive and Trump took away the rebate on them. The car makers will lose the demand for them. The electric companies are raising their prices too to charge them. Make Hybrids. Look how many Maverick hybrids you’ve sold in the first two years. You couldn’t keep up with the demand. Wake up you guys Hybrids are the way to go.
It’s too bad that the auto industry didn’t embrace hydrogen. Yes, it’s dangerous, but so is gasoline and lithium batteries. Hydrogen is environmentally friendly. It doesn’t require mining nor does it need special landfills like lithium batteries. Vehicles go to an hydrogen fill station similarly to ICE vehicles going to a fossil fuel station. Actually, I prefer ICE vehicles, but if we’re trying to “Save the planet” hydrogen would have been a better choice.