rperez817

Yes sir Gurgeh. Selling fleet data processing services is much more profitable than selling vehicles to fleet customers. Good to see Ford expand its presence in this market.

Very insightful comment from Jim Farley about the importance of government policies. Hopefully the U.S. federal government will ramp up its efforts to get the automotive industry out of the ICE age quicker than Europe and China. Q: How long do you think it will be until the majority of vehicles you sell are battery electric? A: A lot of it will depend on government support, the infrastructure (charging stations) build-out, as well as a support for the purchase. We have a $7,500 benefit still at Ford. So it depends on what happens with government policy, and whether that tips the scale for a lot of customers. It has in Europe. China is moving fast. We're totally sold out with the Mach-E (electric SUV). On the West Coast, it's already changed quickly. It’ll be a matter of time before that sweeps across the country.

Brazil has its share of economic issues, most notably "middle income trap", though its GDP is expected to grow by 3.6% this year. However, the issue described in the Automotive News article (Ford deciding to exit the Brazil market after racking up huge losses) is primarily due to Ford Motor Company being a basket case, not something caused by the Brazilian economy or political structure. As bzcat and passis mentioned, Ford was the first automaker to enter Brazil 100 years ago. Yet they couldn't sustain their first mover advantage. Mismanagement at Ford, starting with the failed Fordlandia company town in the 1930s and continuing to extremely poor operations management more recently, is what caused Ford Brazil to end up in a hole that it couldn't dig itself out of.

That's because Ford's organizational inefficiencies in product development, manufacturing, and marketing were so deeply rooted that individual cost cuts here and there couldn't solve the problem. Subsidies that Ford gets from governments, whether in Brazil, USA, or anywhere else it does business, can't solve the problem either. As bzcat mentioned, Ford's inability to compete in the Brazil domestic market were much more a result of Ford's own problems than economics or politics in Brazil.

Very interesting comment. So Ford does have "first mover advantage" with F-150 Lightning. But not based on the date of introduction or date for start of production.

Thank you bzcat sir. My BEV ownership experience jives with what you said, though I have used Tesla Superchargers as well as Chargepoint, Blink, and EA public charging stations a handful of times. I have met many members of the North Texas Electric Auto Association that have handled 100% or close to 100% of their vehicle charging needs at home. Even though range anxiety is something that BEV owners tend to overcome quickly once they get experience owning and operating their vehicle, if the expansion of public charging infrastructure for BEV helps automakers exit the ICE age sooner, it's a very good thing.

President Biden's tour of Ford Rouge Electric Vehicle Center and test drive of F-150 Lightning inspired him to consider electrifying the White House vehicle fleet, including the Presidential limo.

Can anyone confirm (or deny) that BlueOvalSK will build batteries at SK Innovation's existing plant in Georgia?

They have. If the employee compensation in the most recent UAW contract with Ford wasn't competitive, it would not have been ratified. The UAW workers at Ford's Rawsonville and Van Dyke facilities are as well suited to building EV components as any other workforce in the world.

Yes sir bzcat. Ideally, in addition to what you mentioned, subsidies should go to U.S. companies only, or subsidiaries and JV that are incorporated in the U.S.

Here's Car and Driver's test drive impressions. Ride the Lightning: We Ride in Ford's New Electric F-150 Lightning (caranddriver.com)

Yes sir FordBuyer. During his visit to Ford's Rouge Electric Vehicle Center, President Biden referred to the provision in H.R. 848 that increases the maximum number of "qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicles" eligible for the federal tax credit to 600,000 per manufacturer. It will take time before the Senate acts on this bill, it's still being reviewed by the House Committee on Ways and Means as of now. Be sure to write to your representatives asking them to support H.R. 848.

Yes sir akirby. I'm confident Ford will make the kind of supertruck Mr. Tingwall wants. It would have been nice for Ford to at least hint at that product in yesterday's event though.

Official press release from Ford. JV is named BlueOvalSK. Ford Commits to Manufacturing Batteries, to Form New Joint Venture with SK Innovation to Scale NA Battery Deliveries | Ford Media Center

Interesting editorial from Eric Tingwall at Car and Driver. Mr. Tingwall wants Ford to make a hi-po supertruck version of F-150 Lightning. Lightning Struck Ford's F-150 Twice. This Time, I Think It Missed (caranddriver.com)

F-150 Lightning and E-Transit have kicked off the BEV revolution within Ford's lineup of body on frame vehicles. Expect BEV Expedition, Navigator, and Ranger to be announced within the next couple of years.

Yes sir Anthony. Also, it's a tide turner for the U.S. automotive industry. Yesterday's unveiling of F-150 Lightning makes it clear that all 3 of the "Big 3" U.S. based automakers (Ford, Tesla, GM) are now in a position to be leaders in an automotive industry whose future is defined by 100% electric vehicles.

jasonj80 calculated earlier in this thread that Ford has sold about 126,000 plug-in vehicles that have been eligible for the federal income tax credit in the U.S.

Perfectly said Willwll313wll sir. F-150 Lightning is Ford's most important new product introduction of the 21st century, and Ford's reveal event for it tonight demonstrates how serious they are about not just surviving, but thriving as the automotive industry goes all electric. Congratulations to everyone at Ford involved with developing BEV F-150 Lightning, your efforts will be rewarded in the marketplace.

Yes ma'am GearheadGrrrl. At most new car dealerships, the business activity of selling or leasing new cars is a "loss leader" that enables them to do the more profitable things that keep them in the black. Trade-ins for new cars are sold as used cars Lease returns are also sold as used cars Most customers who buy a car (new or used) and all those who lease one will pay for products and services from the finance department Both new car and used car customers will buy parts and service for the vehicle they purchased or leased, and do so multiple times in the course of operating the vehicle This is what makes the low inventory situation with new vehicles such a challenge for dealerships. As new car customers dwindle, the more profitable business units may get hurt. Dealerships will have to get creative to keep things going in F&I and fixed ops.

Thank you Deanh sir But it's not me setting the pace here, but Ford Motor Company itself along with regulatory agencies that have accelerated the transition to BEV. Plus, the BEV pickup truck market is going to be extremely competitive, much more than for ICE powered pickups. Examples. Ford announced its light vehicle lineup will be 100% electric vehicles in Europe by 2030. For commercial vehicles, that figure will be 67%. It's very likely that the other regions where Ford does business will eventually adopt a similar set of goals. California implemented a plan to phase out the sale of new ICE powered cars and light trucks in the state by 2035. For commercial vehicles, California regulations will require a transition to ZEV starting in 2024, with a 2045 deadline to have 100% ZEV. Similar regulations will be adopted by other governments globally. Partial list of BEV pickup trucks (other than F-150 Lightning) that have already been announced for expected production within the next 3 years. GMC Hummer EV Chevrolet Silverado EV Tesla Cybertruck Rivian R1T Bollinger B2 Nikola Badger Lordstown Endurance Hercules Alpha Atlis XT Ford knows very well that BEV and pickup trucks represent the hottest vehicle categories right now. Combining the 2 into a capable, well-designed product, as Ford is doing with F-150 Lightning, is a huge deal. Ford knows just how essential F-150 Lightning is to the company's whole future. I'm confident that as the debut happens 2 hours from now, we'll get confirmation that Ford is playing to win.

Yes sir. F-150 Lightning demonstrates that Ford is now "all in" with BEV. The company should be on track to have 100% of F-Series sales be BEV by 2035, maybe even earlier than that.

Service (fixed ops) and finance (F&I) accounted for over 77% of gross profit at new car dealerships in 2019. You and FordBuyer are correct that used cars are more profitable than new, but excluding F&I their contribution to overall dealership profitability has declined over the past few years. The data for 2020 and 2021 will be interesting to see.

Thank you mackinaw and bzcat for the explanations and video. Very helpful.

Thank you fuzzymoomoo sir, I was thinking the same thing. Appreciate you confirming the "do both" approach can be beneficial financially for Ford.