ice-capades Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 (edited) Ford Considers Axing Car Feature That Could Save Company Millions Per Year Ford's COO says few customers are using its park-assist feature https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/ford-considers-axing-car-feature-could-save-company-millions-per-year Ford Motor Co. is considering getting rid of the automated parallel parking feature in its vehicles as part of its cost-cutting measures in 2024, saying few customers utilize it anyway. Ford COO Kumar Galhotra said during a call with analysts Tuesday that the automaker plans to make some material and design changes aimed at improving efficiency and saving money. Galhotra said connected vehicle data has helped the company determine whether customers are using certain features, and from assessing that data, it makes sense to scrap the auto-park feature. "Very, very few people are using it, so we can remove that feature," Galhotra said, saying the move would save around $60 per vehicle, amounting to roughly $10 million per year. All told, Ford expects to save around $2 billion this year through efficiencies, executives said on the call. The automaker forecast $10 billion to $12 billion in pretax profit for 2024, after earning $10.4 billion before taxes last year. Profit from Ford's Pro commercial vehicle business and Ford Blue combustion vehicle units offset steep losses from Model E electric vehicle operations. Ford is slowing investment in new EV capacity to match slower demand following a seismic change in EV pricing over the past year, Ford executives told analysts. Edited February 8 by ice-capades Additional Content Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92merc Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 Had it on my 2013 Escape. Used it a few times. It worked well. Haven't even tried it on my 2020 Escape. Just don't parallel park much. I'd much rather they keep the keypad on the doors than this. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Rosadini Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 49 minutes ago, 92merc said: Had it on my 2013 Escape. Used it a few times. It worked well. Haven't even tried it on my 2020 Escape. Just don't parallel park much. I'd much rather they keep the keypad on the doors than this. For sure! I assume the park assist is pretty much across the board with competition? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 Had it since 2014. Never used it. Very few parallel spots around here. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 In all seriousness, with the additional sensors that are part of Ford Co-Pilot360™ Assist+, I wouldn't think the cost savings would be that great. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 33 minutes ago, silvrsvt said: In all seriousness, with the additional sensors that are part of Ford Co-Pilot360™ Assist+, I wouldn't think the cost savings would be that great. Thats probably why it’s only $60 per vehicle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92merc Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 I'm sure that extra button on the console was $60 alone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ice-capades Posted February 8 Author Share Posted February 8 (edited) Ford Active Park Assist to Lose Parallel Parking Feature https://fordauthority.com/2024/02/ford-active-park-assist-to-lose-parallel-parking-feature/ Back in August 2022, Ford CEO Jim Farley stated that the automaker’s ICE lineup was “too complex,” which is both confusing to customers and a financial drain on the company itself. Last April, Jim Baumbick – Ford’s vice president, product development operations and quality – added that the automaker planned to begin simplifying its lineup starting with the 2024 model year, and thus far, that’s exactly what it has done with the refreshed 2024 Ford F-150, not to mention the refreshed 2025 Ford Explorer and its counterpart, the 2025 Lincoln Aviator. Now, the automaker is set to potentially remove a specific function of its Ford Active Park Assist feature as its latest cost-cutting measure, according to Automotive News. That feature is automated parallel parking, which is part of Ford Active Park Assist that takes over the steering, shifting, braking, and acceleration of a vehicle to navigate parallel or perpendicular parking spaces. The system also includes Park Out Assist, which provides assistance when exiting a parallel parking spot. However, Ford COO Kumar Galhotra noted on the automaker’s Q4 2024 earnings call with investors that this is one of a few seldomly-used features that the automaker plans to remove as it aims to trim another $2 billion in costs from its bottom line. “Connected vehicle data here is very important because it helps us see what we’re providing, whether the customers are using it or not,” Galhotra said. “So one example is an auto-park feature that lets the customer parallel park automatically. Very, very few people are using it so we can remove that feature. It’s about $60 per vehicle.” It’s unclear if Ford intends to do away with Active Park Assist altogether or simply remove the parallel parking functionality component of it, but according to Galhotra, such a move could save the automaker a whopping $10 million annually. Edited February 8 by ice-capades Additional Content Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 There aren't that many parallel spots near me, and honestly, it takes longer to set up the parking feature than it does to just park it yourself. That said, we all know this will NOT result in MSRPs dropping, it's just another feature Ford will take away and continue to bump up prices. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbone Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 1 hour ago, rmc523 said: There aren't that many parallel spots near me, and honestly, it takes longer to set up the parking feature than it does to just park it yourself. That said, we all know this will NOT result in MSRPs dropping, it's just another feature Ford will take away and continue to bump up prices. That’s the problem I’m seeing with the statements I’ve read. It appears only Ford is saving money, as I didn’t see any mention of passing it down to the consumer. It continues to irritate me about Ford’s pay more get less mantra. It’s not a good look, and I have liked things they have deleted, which makes those things very noticeable to me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Rosadini Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 So without parallel park, what's left? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 2 hours ago, Bob Rosadini said: So without parallel park, what's left? The system goes into perpendicular spaces now, IIRC. So it did both perpendicular AND parallel....until now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 Might also keep the signaling part of the system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 24 minutes ago, rmc523 said: The system goes into perpendicular spaces now, IIRC. So it did both perpendicular AND parallel....until now. So they took an actually useful feature hardly anyone uses away and kept one that’s useless that nobody uses. that’s some powerful logic right there 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 26 minutes ago, fuzzymoomoo said: So they took an actually useful feature hardly anyone uses away and kept one that’s useless that nobody uses. that’s some powerful logic right there It’s based on the parts that could be eliminated to save money. Different sensors and controls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 (edited) About five years ago, Ford was looking at compulsory packages that drove up prices and profits, then realised how much cost and complexity was involved, now we find out what we already suspected, that buyers didn’t want most of the crap anyway and weren’t ordering it. And remember how Ford was pushing the idea of subscriptions for equipment built int every car, I think that’s quietly hitting the trash can because as BMW found out, don’t disappoint your buyers. Ford seems to have these shitty senior managers that aren’t even hiding the potential for greed and they wonder why buyers are really turned off by the hubris in their charging policies… Silently decontenting vehicles but not really dropping the price (they won’t miss it). Edited February 9 by jpd80 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbone Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 7 hours ago, jpd80 said: And remember how Ford was pushing the idea of subscriptions for equipment built int every car, I think that’s quietly hitting the trash can because as BMW found out, don’t disappoint your buyers. Ford seems to have these shitty senior managers that aren’t even hiding the potential for greed and they wonder why buyers are really turned off by the hubris in their charging policies… Silently decontenting vehicles but not really dropping the price (they won’t miss it). These kind of actions are really unforced errors that tarnish relationships with customers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 17 hours ago, fuzzymoomoo said: So they took an actually useful feature hardly anyone uses away and kept one that’s useless that nobody uses. that’s some powerful logic right there yeah no kidding….though if you’ve seen people park around here they really could use the feature lol. my problem is taking away features once they’re there 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 17 hours ago, jpd80 said: Silently decontenting vehicles but not really dropping the price (they won’t miss it). There is no reason to drop something if you’re just going to drop the price. Might as well keep it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick73 Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 16 minutes ago, akirby said: There is no reason to drop something if you’re just going to drop the price. Might as well keep it. Doesn’t a lower price attract more buyers? Assuming margins remain the same, it’s a win-win for Ford and buyers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 34 minutes ago, Rick73 said: Doesn’t a lower price attract more buyers? Assuming margins remain the same, it’s a win-win for Ford and buyers. There’s not a corporation on the planet that will turn down higher margins regardless of how much it pinches the customers as long as the investors are happy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe771476 Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 I want to be able to brake when I want to, parallel park using my own ability/backing up using my mirrors and not a back-up camera. If a car stops in front of me and I inadvertently find myself on railroad tracks, will my self-driving car know how to take evasive maneuvers if a train is coming?? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbone Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 2 hours ago, Rick73 said: Doesn’t a lower price attract more buyers? Assuming margins remain the same, it’s a win-win for Ford and buyers. There has been no mention of lowering the price for the customer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 4 hours ago, Rick73 said: Doesn’t a lower price attract more buyers? Assuming margins remain the same, it’s a win-win for Ford and buyers. A $60 discount on a $40k+ vehicle? Seriously? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 (edited) 1 hour ago, akirby said: A $60 discount on a $40k+ vehicle? Seriously? I’ll give you a possible example, Copilot 360+ option on a 2022 F150 cost $995 but, it required a package including heated steering wheel, remote start, LED fog lamps, power seats and keyless entry which totals around $4,535 (March 2023). I can see the opportunity in there for Ford to selectively remove some options without dropping the price….. https://www.capitalone.com/cars/learn/finding-the-right-car/what-is-ford-copilot360/2186 To be fair here, I’m not so impassioned about this, it just strikes me as more marketing, compelling buyers to purchase more than they need to improve profits and then take some of that feature package away in the future….its bound to happen. Equally, people used to think that Ford was falling on its sword offering $8,000 cash incentives for end of model year run out. So what if say, $2,000 cash is already built into the MSRP of every vehicle in that vehicle’s year model, no doubt that Ford has some sort of contingency like that but, if it then reduces builds to inventory, it saves on fewer resources making vehicles that return less profit…I get that. Edited February 10 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.