Ford says it will stop competing in over-served markets, won't be all things to all people
Ford CEO Jim Farley says the company will stop competing in over-served market segments and instead will place big bets on connected vehicles and digital services.
The days of Ford being all things to all people are over, Farley said in a statement ahead of the company's capital markets day event Monday.
He says Ford will be competing differently, going for tailored ownership experiences rather than "jockeying for slivers of market share" with complex vehicles in over-served market segments.
The company is expected to detail how it will accomplish this at the daylong event near its headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan.
Executives are to explain how Ford will get to a 10% pretax profit margin in 2026. It reiterated 2023 full-year guidance of $9 billion to $11 billion in adjusted pretax profits.
Ford Motor Co. also cut deals with a number of companies to supply its rapidly growing electrical vehicle division, Ford Model e.
Ford will get more than 100,000 metric tons of lithium hydroxide from Albemarle, based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Compass Minerals International announced a multiyear deal to supply Ford with up to 40% of the battery-grade lithium carbonate coming from its project in Utah.
EnergySource Minerals will supply the carmaker with lithium hydroxide from a new site in Imperial Valley, California, and Nemaska Lithium, a Canadian miner, will supply Ford with 13,000 tons of lithium hydroxide annually for 11 years. per year over 11 years.
Because the materials are coming from the U.S. and Canada, it ensures that Ford's electric vehicles will qualify for new federal tax credits, making them more competitive.
Ford has split itself into three business units, Ford Blue for gasoline-powered and hybrid vehicles, Ford Model e for electric vehicles and digital products, and Ford Pro, the company's commercial vehicle business.
In addition to Farley and Chief Financial Officer John Lawler, executives from each unit will detail the company's plans.