Ford boss swears employees to tough competition

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Ford boss swears employees to tough competition-competition

According to a media report, Ford CEO Jim Farley struck a serious tone during an internal meeting with employees at the end of October while he discussed the fierce competition among car manufacturers, especially with regard to the transition to electric mobility. For the Detroit Free Press, he detailed who is operating from a position of strength, what other manufacturers are doing right, and what Ford needs to change to not only compete but also strengthen the company’s finances and improve market value.

Farley made some comparisons between Ford and other manufacturers such as Tesla, Rivian and Volkswagen, which are already a big step ahead of the traditional manufacturer from Detroit when it comes to electric cars. Farley, who joined Ford as CEO in just over a year, said the next five years will be crucial to whether or not a manufacturer survives the transformation.

Above all, Ford has to work on the industry leader Tesla. Tesla has extensive resources, smart employees, and with the Model 3 the best-selling vehicle in Europe, Great Britain and California, and not just purely electrically, but across all drive types. “If we want to be successful, we can no longer ignore this competition,” said Farley of the 20-something.000 employees participating in the video call.

Farley pointed out what he believes Tesla is doing right, such as direct sales and the simplicity of the ordering process: “Three or four clicks configure the vehicle. There are also simple and non-negotiable prices”. Tesla is also the benchmark when it comes to vehicle technology: “Nobody does it better. Tesla customers pay less for a better battery”. In the background, Tesla also distinguishes massive of classic automakers: Tesla can quickly scales and cut the costs due to the low complexity of its products and processes.

Farley challenged Ford employees to think differently too, to be creative and to look for ways to make the manufacturer more efficient, more nimble and less expensive. And he made it clear that complacency is not welcomed in the current situation. Farley and his leadership team reiterated that now is the time to reposition the company.

Just behind Tesla, Farley put Volkswagen in the spotlight as the world’s second-largest electric car maker. Although Ford is making slow progress in order to catch up and not fall behind, there is still a lot to do. Because the competition never sleeps: “Our competitors are unbelievable in this area, we’ve never seen anything like it.”

Farley also referred to the role of Rivian. Ford is involved in the electric car start-up. Nevertheless, Rivian is also a competitor. Poaching in exactly the area in which Ford is traditionally strongly represented in its home country: in pick-ups, SUVs and vans. All vehicles where fully electric variants at Ford were still missing. That is slowly changing though. Farley doesn’t go fast enough though.

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2 thoughts on “Ford boss swears employees to tough competition”

  1. well? Where have we heard that before?? Herbert Diess seems to be becoming the role model for the path taken by the established manufacturers in the transformation of the powertrain. Because, of course, with every established company, some people will have to wake up.

    Ford is similarly well positioned, because their million-seller F-150 has gotten a grandiose electric variant with the Lightning, which does not attract attention with modern craziness, but knows the arch-conservative clientele and offers you added value through location-independent work from the frunk.

    Especially since Ford is also invested in Rivian and apparently supplies chassis parts.

    Reply

  2. oops..
    the tree is burning ^^

    I have no sympathy at all, almost 2 years ago they were still telling around that e-mobility could be solved with hybrids…

    it remains exciting

    Reply

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