The Ford Motor Chair, Bill Ford, in the rally of shares of car manufacturers, SPAC and investors

DETROIT – After a decade of mediocrity, Ford Motor shares have risen nearly 50% so far this year and we are keeping pace with the best annual performance since 2009.

To investors, such as CEO Jim Farley’s new response plan, called Ford +, which aims to better position the automaker to build electric and autonomous vehicles, as well as generate recurring revenue. So far, presentations of Ford electric vehicles such as the Mustang Mach-E and the upcoming Ford F-150 Lightning have been well received by investors.

Ford President Bill Ford says the company plans to maintain momentum until 2022 and beyond, despite the global shortage of semiconductor chips causing production disruptions.

“When we came out with the Mach-E Mustang and then the F-150 Lightning, I think it really surprised a lot of people. Not just the fact that we came out with these vehicles, but frankly how good they were,” he said. CNBC. “I think you’re starting to see it in the investor base. Really, that’s the tip of the iceberg.”

Ford, Henry Ford’s great-grandfather, founded the automaker, recently sat down with CNBC to discuss the company’s stock concentration, replacement plan, as well as special-purpose acquisition companies and retail investors. . Here are some highlights from this interview.

Ford said the reinstatement of the company’s coveted dividend, which was cut in March 2020, is “quite important” on its to-do list, but would not say when. Ford, president since 1999, and other company executives have said it must be the right time, as the industry continues to work through the coronavirus pandemic and the global shortage of semiconductor chips.

“We’re trying to do it as soon as we can,” he said. “We own a lot of the property of employees and retirees, and they also care deeply about the dividend.”

Ford said it doesn’t know if all of the company’s emerging initiatives under the Ford + plan are reflected in the current stock price, but said investors are beginning to realize it.

“Clearly, I think investors understand that there is a real change on foot and that Ford will be a major player in that change,” he said. Adding later, Ford’s underlying business is “very strong” and the pace of change is more than any other occasion in its more than 40 years with the automaker.

The company plans to shift the focus to a more recurring revenue model under the plan, led by connected vehicle services and a focus on fleet customers, among other things. It’s something all automakers are trying to do, as the industry invests billions in new technologies, such as electric and autonomous vehicles.

The Ford family essentially controls the company through Class B preferred shares that grant it 40% of the shareholders ’voting rights. It is a system that has existed since the company went public in 1956, but which not all investors believe should continue.

This system has faced numerous challenges for shareholders. At this year’s shareholders ’meeting, 36.3% of voters supported a system that gave each share an equal vote, slightly higher than the 35.3% average since 2013.

Ford maintains support for the dual-action structure, saying it has been “a very positive thing” for the company. He said it allows Ford to focus more on the long term and not be another “nameless, faceless corporation.” He cited control of the family to help her avoid bankruptcy during the Great Recession, unlike GM and then Chrysler, now known as Stellantis.

“We are not a nameless faceless corporation, and people know that there is a family and, in my case, a person who will be there, even though there will be no golden parachute, will not be rescued and worried deeply for the company, ”he said.

Ford, 64, has no plans to leave the company board for the foreseeable future, even when a younger generation of family members join the board. His daughter, Alexandra Ford English, and her nephew, Henry Ford III, were both elected to the company’s board in May.

Ford, who joined the board in 1988, said it was the right time for the two of them to become directors and learn the ropes. He said being a young executive with his father and cousin, Edsel Ford II, who resigned from the board earlier this year, brought a lot of value.

“I wanted to provide them with the same kind of mentoring as they move forward and start carrying the torch for the Ford family,” he said.

Ford, co-founder and partner of mobility capital firm Fontinalis Partners, said he’s not sure if the SPACs are a flash in sight or here to stay. “I guess time will tell, but it’s clearly another liquidity route we didn’t have recently,” he said.

Ford said many companies in which Fontinalis participates are exploring SPAC offerings, while others continue to look for more traditional IPOs.

Fontinalis was founded in 2009. It focuses on emerging mobility companies. Investments have included Lyft, Postmates and the company Ouster. Ford said he co-founded the company because he believed these mobility companies would play a key role in the future of transportation.

Whether Ford’s investors are institutional or retail, Ford said it wants them to own long-term shares.

“What we really like is that, at least, I’ll talk personally, they’re long-term investors who want to be with us on the journey we’re making,” he said. “And whether they’re retail investors or institutional media, anyway, it’s fantastic.”