Ford President Ford Ford’s vision for a greener car industry is finally on the horizon

DETROIT: A decade ago, Ford Motor positioned itself to be a leader in electrified vehicles with new global models such as the C-Max and Focus Electric.

These “green” cars were to lead the automaker’s efforts to potentially electrify 25 percent of its fleet by 2020, Ford President Bill Ford wrote in a May 2011 article in Fortune magazine. They didn’t and Ford saw a start-up, Tesla, emerge as the industry benchmark for zero-emission vehicles, and the city’s cross-country rival, General Motors, became the main one. Wall Street car maker for electric vehicles.

Ford’s new CEO Jim Farley, who took the helm on Oct. 1, quickly announced a tougher pivot on electric vehicles, as the automaker launched a fully electric Mustang crossover and an upcoming F -150. While the new electric vehicles have been well received, Ford has to fight for a leading position amid a litany of old and new competitors.

It’s something that Bill Ford, great-grandson of the company’s founder, knows all too well. A greener car industry has always been one of its missions. As an environmentalist and the longest-serving president of any automaker, he has acted as a rare champion or awareness of green practices in the industry.

It is something that was historically taboo, even discouraged, in a company that relied on fossil fuels to power its products and large trucks to make a profit.

But that is changing. The promise of electric vehicles and Wall Street’s support for more sustainable businesses makes Ford believe that his decades-old vision of a greener business and automotive industry is finally achievable. And investors have set their sights on it, sending Ford shares around 50% by 2021.

“When I joined the company in 1979, I joined as someone who was deeply concerned about the environment and I felt absolutely dismayed that this vision was not only not shared, but was frankly despised within the company.” , he told CNBC during a video interview. “All of that has changed now. And, yes, it makes me very excited.”

Bill Ford admits the company’s first “green cars” may not have had the success he wanted at the time. But he believes the industry and the acceptance of electric vehicles by consumers is changing and that its drive for a more sustainable industry has been right all along.

“They might not have been the right time, they might not have been fully prepared for the first hour when they came out, but, directionally, it was absolutely right,” Ford said.

Doing the “right thing” has not always been easy for the heir to the 64-year-old car. Their support for both the environment and industry has always been at odds with each other and has drawn criticism from supporters on both sides.

More recently, former President Donald Trump publicly condemned Bill Ford and the company last year for agreeing with California on strict fuel consumption and emissions standards.

Ford was the only American automaker to do so at the time. Ford’s biggest rival, General Motors, backed the Trump administration before changing its stance to support California after Joe Biden, a supporter of electric vehicles and stricter emissions regulations of vehicles, defeating Trump.

“It’s important to stand up for things. We’ve taken positions on the environment that haven’t always been popular, and in many cases we’ve gone against what the rest of our industry has done,” said Ford, whose career it now covers seven American presidents. , dit. “And it’s okay because it gives you an idea of ​​who you are.”

Farley, who joined Ford in 2007 earlier this year, described the move as “absolutely” essential for the automaker and its future plans. The company is soon expected to launch more on its sustainability plans and how they relate to its new Ford + investment plan.

Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund, said the company’s support for California’s emissions standards and the Paris Climate Agreement were two of the most recent examples of Bill Ford’s leadership in the industry.

“He’s been a leader,” Krupp, who has known Ford for 20 years, said in a telephone interview. “I can’t think of any other American car executive who has done more to advance the issue than Bill.”

Despite the president’s support for electric vehicles and the environment, the manufacturer has not said when it expects to convert its entire range to electric vehicles, unlike rival GM, which has said it plans to switch to electric in 2035. Ford has said it expects 40% of its global sales volume to be fully electric by 2030.

Bill Ford said that ultimately, it is up to consumers to decide how quickly the adoption of electric vehicles will take place, but there will be more investment and new products. Ford’s current range includes plug-in hybrid electric vehicles with gasoline engines, as well as the Mustang Mach-E crossover, its only EV.

“Our customers will dictate how quickly it happens,” Ford said. “But I’ll tell you we’ll be ready when that happens. We’re putting tremendous pressure. You’ll see more announcements in the near future.”

Ford has at least two additional electric vehicles by the middle of next year: a commercial van later this year and an electric version of the F-150 pickup called the Lightning. The new electric vehicles are part of Ford’s plans to invest more than $ 30 billion in electric vehicles by 2025, about $ 7 billion of which had already been invested before February.

Ford said it is “very confident” that the automaker could be a leader in electric vehicles. He also believes there will be some consolidation in the auto industry as a barrage of new competitors will try to fill the space.

“Clearly we are a changing industry and I think if we move too fast in ten years, there will be clear winners and losers in this new world of electric vehicles, [autonomous vehicles] and software, “he said.” I think the winners may not be all the familiar faces people would have thought.

“I mean look clearly at a company like Tesla, which is a very young company, and they’ve done it incredibly well. There will be others like that.”

Aside from its own investments in electric vehicles, Ford is a minority investor in the launch of EV Rivian trucks, which submitted an initial public offering last week. According to reports, the company is seeking a valuation of $ 80 billion, giving the young woman a higher valuation than Ford for $ 51 billion and GM for $ 71 billion.

Electric vehicles are not the only part of Bill Ford’s vision of a greener future. He believes that autonomous vehicles and the reworking of the manufacturing and supply chain of the industry must also pass.

He said more needs to be done in reducing the entire carbon footprint of the industry, including the use of more renewable energy to produce vehicles, as well as autonomous vehicles that can alleviate public transport problems and the global blockade. .

“We don’t have to be 100% in any of these areas, but if I feel like we’re on the right track in all these areas and I think it’s the first few days, but yes, we’re going down all these roads. Yes, then I will feel great, ”he said.

While the shift to electric vehicles is in its early days, Ford, 64, is not passing after more than 40 years of racing at the carmaker. Still, he has no plans to leave the company for the foreseeable future, even when a younger generation of Ford joins the board. His daughter, Alexandra Ford English, and her nephew, Henry Ford III, were elected to the company’s board in May.

“I feel like I’m adding value to Ford today, maybe more than I’ve ever had,” Ford said. “As long as I have the feeling of contributing and being able to work at the pace the company needs me to work for, I’ll be here. Someday it won’t be like that and I think I’ll know when that happens.”