Automotive News Interview with President of Ford Blue and Model E

[Harley Lover]

Interesting information contained here, but some of it is implied and referenced in roundabout ways. Andrew Frick is president of Blue and Model e. Some particulars: 

Quote

Q:Where are your buyers going without the Escape, Edge and F-150 Lightning in the lineup?

This was part of our product portfolio strategy; we had a plan for those customers. If you look at where we are so far through April, our share’s just above where it was this time a year ago. Our plan was to have a winning portfolio. What that meant for us was to be first or second in every segment we compete in. What we’ve seen is significant growth in our Mustang business, in our truck business, especially in Ranger and Maverick. And we’ve seen a lot of growth in our Bronco family. Where we’ve seen the most growth is in our large utilities: Explorer and Expedition are up considerably. We’ve seen a lot of our Edge customers go into Explorer. A lot of Escape customers go into either Bronco Sport, Maverick or Explorer. We’ve been able to retain our Escape and Edge customers at the same rate as when we had those vehicles, based on the offers and retention we’ve set in place.

 

[Harley Lover]

More: 

Quote

Q: Is what you’re doing with the Universal Electric Vehicle platform enough to combat what Chinese companies build?

I don’t know if it would be enough, but it’s not in a bubble. The importance of what we’re doing with our UEV platform going into Louisville and the innovation behind it — the way we’re sourcing, taking the complexity out — those are things that are now being shared and scaled across all of our vehicles. There’s a lot of learnings. It’s not just staying in Long Beach. The reason we’re as focused on it is because they’re very cost competitive. You can see what they’re doing in a lot of markets around the world. We see what’s happening in Mexico, across Australia and Thailand. The percentage of industry that’s either Chinese-sourced or Chinese OEM-based is growing at a really rapid pace. We’re very aware of it, we’re competing with them every day. We have a really good line of sight in terms of their cost structure, where their advantages would be, and that’s what we’re now deploying across our entire industrial team.

Given their high rate of government subsidies and different labor standards, can you ever truly match the Chinese OEMs on cost?

I believe we can. That’s where looking at the UEV platform puts us in a really good position. If they were to come here they’d have to federalize and have different supply base costs. That’s why the regulations and tariffs we’re talking about are really important. We want to make sure we can compete with them, but at the same time there’s a lot of reasons we want to have a level playing field.

 

[Harley Lover]

More: 4 door Mustang or UEV or both (bolded by me):

Quote

Q: Jim Farley has hinted you might bring back sedans. Why might that body style make sense now?

There is a percentage of the customer base that still buys sedans. It’s a lot smaller than it once was. It used to be 50 percent, now it’s 16, 17 percent. We have a really great Mustang that people consider a car. We look to expand on the Mustang family as we move forward. I think, for us to do it, it’s going to have to make sense within our portfolio. It’s going to have to make sense within a family that we may already offer. And it’s going to have to be very cost-effective for us to do it. That’s what we’re focused on in general with a lot of our new affordable products. We want the concepts to be right and the costs to be even better.

 

Edited Wednesday at 12:03 PM by Harley Lover
https://www.autonews.com/ford/an-tftt-ford-andrew-frick-affordability-sedans-tariffs-0603/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter-ANDaily-20260603

[twintornados]

12 minutes ago, Harley Lover said:

Interesting information contained here, but some of it is implied and referenced in roundabout ways. Andrew Frick is president of Blue and Model e. Some particulars: 

 

Quote

What that meant for us was to be first or second in every segment we compete in.

 

 

Also known as "The Jack Welsh gambit"....."Neutron Jack" Welsh was the CEO of General Electric from 1981 to 2001 and he was known for stripping GE down to what it is today by demanding that whatever market they were in, they had to be either first or second or the division would be sold off. 

 

[morgan20]

1 hour ago, Harley Lover said:

some of it is implied and referenced in roundabout ways. Andrew Frick is president of Blue and Model e. Some particulars: 

 

Yea, Frick is a Ford lifer. Roundabout ways using lots of words to say very little is to be expected from that big shot.

[DeluxeStang]

7 hours ago, Harley Lover said:

More: 4 door Mustang or UEV or both (bolded by me):

 

How long have we been hearing about a mustang 4 door for? At least since the s550, but I've heard back when the s197 was being developed there were rumors of a 4 door. 

 

I wonder what the hang up is. There's clearly demand for it, especially now that the V8 charger is dead. Yet it feels like it's been one of those cars that's been right around the corner for like 10 years lol. Maybe it's a platform limitation, or something else I'm not seeing. 

[twintornados]

18 minutes ago, DeluxeStang said:

How long have we been hearing about a mustang 4 door for? At least since the s550, but I've heard back when the s197 was being developed there were rumors of a 4 door. 

 

I wonder what the hang up is. There's clearly demand for it, especially now that the V8 charger is dead. Yet it feels like it's been one of those cars that's been right around the corner for like 10 years lol. Maybe it's a platform limitation, or something else I'm not seeing. 

 

According to this styling exercise....since the very beginning of the creation of Mustang.....note the date in the picture is 1/04/63....

 

[DeluxeStang]

6 minutes ago, twintornados said:

 

According to this styling exercise....since the very beginning of the creation of Mustang.....note the date in the picture is 1/04/63....

 

Imo this really doesn't work visually. The bitch back roof for instance just doesn't have that visual sleekness you need to make something like this look good. 

[twintornados]

2 hours ago, DeluxeStang said:

Imo this really doesn't work visually. The bitch back roof for instance just doesn't have that visual sleekness you need to make something like this look good. 

That may well be, but I was only answering the question of how long Ford was talking about a 4 door Mustang...

[DeluxeStang]

2 hours ago, twintornados said:

That may well be, but I was only answering the question of how long Ford was talking about a 4 door Mustang...

I know lol.

[Motorpsychology]

Ford is missing a terrific marketing opportunity! For 2027, they could bring out a Special 64th Anniversary 4 Door Commemorative Edition on the Mach-e; complete with whitewalls and dog dish hubcaps on steel wheels. Maybe install an AM-only radio and floor console delete mandatory option.

[Sherminator98]

2 minutes ago, Motorpsychology said:

Ford is missing a terrific marketing opportunity! For 2027, they could bring out a Special 64th Anniversary 4 Door Commemorative Edition on the Mach-e; complete with whitewalls and dog dish hubcaps on steel wheels. Maybe install an AM-only radio and floor console delete mandatory option.

 

I just wish they would show something significantly new soon-it seems like next to nothing has come outside of minor refreshes for the past 2-3 years. 

 

a Mustang Sedan is just low lying fruit at this point to kick off a product blitz. 

[rmc523]

1 hour ago, Sherminator98 said:

 

I just wish they would show something significantly new soon-it seems like next to nothing has come outside of minor refreshes for the past 2-3 years. 

 

a Mustang Sedan is just low lying fruit at this point to kick off a product blitz. 

 

Agree....it's getting old.....and all we keep hearing is "wait until ______" for years...

Edited Thursday at 12:46 PM by rmc523

[DeluxeStang]

1 hour ago, Sherminator98 said:

 

I just wish they would show something significantly new soon-it seems like next to nothing has come outside of minor refreshes for the past 2-3 years. 

 

a Mustang Sedan is just low lying fruit at this point to kick off a product blitz. 

Things are dragging quite a bit. Maybe the hold up with the mustang sedan is they've decided to just release it alongside the next gen coupe previewing both around the same time. That would explain why it's apparently not coming until 2028/29 which lines up with s750 timelines more or less. I don't see them bringing an s650 based sedan to market in 2028, and then immediately making it look outdated by revealing a new coupe with fresher styling. That would torpedo a lot of the appeal for the product. Giving both a fresh new design and releasing at the same time is more logical. 

[rmc523]

13 minutes ago, DeluxeStang said:

Things are dragging quite a bit. Maybe the hold up with the mustang sedan is they've decided to just release it alongside the next gen coupe previewing both around the same time. That would explain why it's apparently not coming until 2028/29 which lines up with s750 timelines more or less. I don't see them bringing an s650 based sedan to market in 2028, and then immediately making it look outdated by revealing a new coupe with fresher styling. That would torpedo a lot of the appeal for the product. Giving both a fresh new design and releasing at the same time is more logical. 

 

Yeah, I said a "best case" scenario for speed would be the sedan ushering in the refresh for S650, but that's also a lot of engineering work to debut a refreshed product that presumably would be replaced in 4+ years (with Mustang's longer timelines)

[DeluxeStang]

10 minutes ago, rmc523 said:

 

Yeah, I said a "best case" scenario for speed would be the sedan ushering in the refresh for S650, but that's also a lot of engineering work to debut a refreshed product that presumably would be replaced in 4+ years (with Mustang's longer timelines)

At this point, I'm wondering if there's even gonna be an s650 refresh or if we just are gonna go straight into a new generation. 

[morgan20]

13 minutes ago, DeluxeStang said:

At this point, I'm wondering if there's even gonna be an s650 refresh or if we just are gonna go straight into a new generation. 

 

Hopefully the latter!

[Sherminator98]

Given Fords sales numbers this past month with employee pricing, then need to do something with getting new products out sooner than later. 

[twintornados]

2 minutes ago, Sherminator98 said:

Given Fords sales numbers this past month with employee pricing, then need to do something with getting new products out sooner than later. 

 

Well, seeing that last years promotion went over like gangbusters and cleared out a lot of product...that could also skew this years numbers....

[BenKohnen]

Oh, there's a good amount to unpack there.

He's right that there's been growth in several vehicles. I don't know that's it's because of anything Ford specifically is doing. There's nothing that competes well with the Maverick. The Ranger does most of what an F-150 does for most people at a much lower price point. And the Mustang lost a lot of its competition.
He's partially right that a lot of Edge customers have gone into Exlplorers. A lot have gone either nowhere (keeping their Edge) or to other brands as well. As for Escape owners, sure, some are going to Bronco Sport or Maverick. Explorer is a huge jump from an Escape. Many more are again going nowhere (keeping their Escape) or to other brands. We'll see if there's more Escape-to-Bronco Sport movement this month, with the $1000 incentive for Escape owners on the Bronco Sport. I suspect it'll need to be more money than that to really make it worthwhile.

There seems to be this continued fixation on rolling out new EV models at the expense of gas models. Maybe that's great for certain markets, but it's not one size fits all. As much as I like the EV's I've been around, I can see that they're not right for everyone, any more than a diesel Super Duty will ever be the right fit for everyone. There are still a lot of functional hurdles to clear for EV's to be really practical, between charge times, charge locations, battery range, temperature resistance and range effect. There's a lot of attitude and psychological hurdles to clear as well. When we feel like something is being forced on us, the natural tendancy is to resist it. So, while I don't mind the development on the EV side, it would be nice to see some real development on vehicles we can put in people's hands NOW that they can enjoy and be comfortable with, starting today, and reaching through the next 10-12 years of product life, which might be enough time to clear most of the EV hurdles.

He's also right on the sedan numbers. I tracked that during a brief jump over to working at a Nissan dealership. The sedan buyers tended to hover in that 13-15% of the new vehicle buyer range. Fewer offerings is part of it, but sedans (cars in general) are harder to get in and out of, have lower ground clearance which sucks in the winter, tend not to come with all wheel drive, and can pack less stuff in the back. There's a little bit of a price savings, sure, but given the choice between a $35000 car or a $35000 SUV, most were picking the SUV. I saw it with Ford as well in the 2018-2020 time frame. You could get a Fusion of whatever trim level, or for an extra $1500-2000, you could get an Escape of the same trim level. Most picked the Escape.

[rmc523]

12 minutes ago, twintornados said:

 

Well, seeing that last years promotion went over like gangbusters and cleared out a lot of product...that could also skew this years numbers....

 

Except they're currently running the same promo (though I feel it's gotten less hype this time).

 

1 hour ago, DeluxeStang said:

At this point, I'm wondering if there's even gonna be an s650 refresh or if we just are gonna go straight into a new generation. 

 

Good question!  The fact it was a warmed-over model could point to a new generation coming.

[morgan20]

57 minutes ago, BenKohnen said:

So, while I don't mind the development on the EV side, it would be nice to see some real development on vehicles we can put in people's hands NOW that they can enjoy and be comfortable with, starting today, and reaching through the next 10-12 years of product life, which might be enough time to clear most of the EV hurdles.

 

The biggest EV hurdle is the price premium for consumers. Ford's big shots including the head honcho said this hurdle will be cleared with the upcoming CE1 products.

 

Hopefully Frick is up to the task of launching these products on time, in high-volume, with high quality. 

[BenKohnen]

I was thinking about the price thing. When 55" flat TV's were pretty fresh to market, what were they, $2500-3000? Now they're sub-$500. EV's will - or should - do the same. The tech is fresh enough that it's still stupid expensive. Over time and volume, it'll get less expensive, as well as better in quality and capability. 720p used to be high definition. Now, a TV can crank out better definition we can process with our human eyeball... and at a much lower price point than 15 years ago.

Nothing moves faster than tech in today's world. And I think that's actually going to hurt the Mustang Mach-E, maybe even eventually kill it. It's a Gen-1 platform really, and probably can't structurally take on a lot of what's in process now and certainly not what will be normal in 5 years' time. My wife brought that up during her "what's going to replace my Escape" processing, and it's stuck with me.

[Sherminator98]

15 minutes ago, BenKohnen said:

I was thinking about the price thing. When 55" flat TV's were pretty fresh to market, what were they, $2500-3000? Now they're sub-$500. EV's will - or should - do the same. The tech is fresh enough that it's still stupid expensive. Over time and volume, it'll get less expensive, as well as better in quality and capability. 720p used to be high definition. Now, a TV can crank out better definition we can process with our human eyeball... and at a much lower price point than 15 years ago.

Nothing moves faster than tech in today's world. And I think that's actually going to hurt the Mustang Mach-E, maybe even eventually kill it. It's a Gen-1 platform really, and probably can't structurally take on a lot of what's in process now and certainly not what will be normal in 5 years' time. My wife brought that up during her "what's going to replace my Escape" processing, and it's stuck with me.

 

I don't think cars are going to see the same improvements in price that electronic items do-often what happens is the processes that actually make the chips get cheaper because the yields get better (i.e. more chips from a wafer) or it moves to a smaller process that yields more chips. 

 

Not to mention due to the AI build out, I think electronics are going to keep steady cost wise for the next 5 years, esp if they need to use any significant amount of memory in them.

 

The new gen processing requirements and software defined vehicles have rather beefy computing requirements, so I think that isn't going to help on the profitability end of things with shortages of memories and GPUs to run them. 

[Trader 10]

6 hours ago, Sherminator98 said:

 

I just wish they would show something significantly new soon-it seems like next to nothing has come outside of minor refreshes for the past 2-3 years. 

 

a Mustang Sedan is just low lying fruit at this point to kick off a product blitz. 

If memory serves correct, the last new model that was introduced was the Maverick and that’s been 5 years ago.