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Ford's Badly Needed Plan To Catch Up On Hybrid, Electric Cars (arstechnica.com)
Ford supposedly has a plan to adapt to the changing world of transportation. The company recently announced that it's "going all-in on hybrids," readying six new battery electric vehicles by 2022, with the first due in 2020, and adding more performance versions of its SUV line up. "Additionally, by the end of 2019, every new Ford will have 4G LTE connectivity, and the company is developing a new cloud platform that will deliver over-the-air updates," reports Ars Technica. From the report: New hybrids: "Hybrids for years have been mostly niche products but are now on the cusp of a mainstream breakout," said Jim Farley, Ford president of global markets. "The valuable capability they offer -- plus fuel efficiency -- is why we're going to offer hybrid variants of our most popular and high-volume vehicles, allowing our loyal, passionate customers to become advocates for the technology." So America's best-selling truck (the F-150) will get the ability to act as a mobile generator, something that should come in handy on job sites. Meanwhile, the Mustang will have performance to match the 5.0L V8 version but with more low-down torque, according to Ford. The company says that these new hybrids will be cheaper and more efficient than its current hybrids, via "common cell and component design and by manufacturing motors, transmissions, and battery packs."
New BEVs: We have to wait for those new BEVs, too. The first of these -- an electric performance SUV -- also shows up in 2020, but with five more planned between then and 2022. Ford says that it's "rethinking the ownership experience" as part of this and that over-the-air software updates to add new features will be part of the $11 billion investment plan.
More SUVs, more commercial vehicles, a super Mustang: Other new vehicles on the way include a reborn Ford Bronco SUV and an as-yet unnamed small SUV, but before then we'll get redesigned Explorers and Escapes, due in 2019. Next year, Ford will also bring a new Transit van to the US, and it says advanced driver-assistance systems, like automatic emergency braking and others, will be added to future commercial vehicles like the future E-Series, F-650, F-750, and F59-based vehicles.
New BEVs: We have to wait for those new BEVs, too. The first of these -- an electric performance SUV -- also shows up in 2020, but with five more planned between then and 2022. Ford says that it's "rethinking the ownership experience" as part of this and that over-the-air software updates to add new features will be part of the $11 billion investment plan.
More SUVs, more commercial vehicles, a super Mustang: Other new vehicles on the way include a reborn Ford Bronco SUV and an as-yet unnamed small SUV, but before then we'll get redesigned Explorers and Escapes, due in 2019. Next year, Ford will also bring a new Transit van to the US, and it says advanced driver-assistance systems, like automatic emergency braking and others, will be added to future commercial vehicles like the future E-Series, F-650, F-750, and F59-based vehicles.
Hybrids are a waste of time at this point. Pure electric is the way forward, with a rapid charger network and a few ICE models for edge cases.
Ford still have no clue. They are trying to retrofit this tech to existing models. Every EV that is just an ICE with an electric drive train fitted is crap.
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SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
Yes, yes, worship Tesla! Do you realize that every single Tesla built to date - over the entire 15 year history of the car - doesn't add up to the number of F series trucks Ford sold in the last 4 months? Consumers are moving a lot slower than you demand, and unless Ford wants to end up with Tesla - losing money on every unit they sell, junk-bond ratings - they should continue with their methodical approach of IC, hybrids, and EVs (yes, they offer all 3, and actually have two of the top 10 selling EVs), and let the market move the ratios.
Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
At the projected rate of delivery, those 500K will receive their vehicles over the next 3 years. I am sure lots of those pre-buyers will be happy to finally receive their vehicle after 5 years; how many will ask for a refund? 63K had asked for one as of last August, and I am sure the number has increased.
As far as that "demand", Ford will sell about 5X that number F series trucks during the time, and Toyota will sell about 1.5X the number of Prius' as the Model 3. Worldwide, there are around 80MM cars sold annually, so those 500K do, in fact, show there is minimal if any consumer demand right now. Consumers prefer light trucks and hybrids by large margins over the Model 3.
As far as profitability, can you point to a quarter where Tesla actually made profit? Looking at the data they did it exactly once in the last 5 years, when they booked all that model 3 pre-revenue. They have never been a profitable company, unless you consider a 20% loss (spend $5 to make $4) a profit?
About the bond ratings? Tesla is a solid B - junk bond rating. Now, Tesla Finance LLC gets the good rating, but that's based upon the credit worthiness of the people using Tesla financing - not Tesla itself. It's YOUR credit rating used for the bond rating, not Tesla. Facts do not support your claims - which is why you posted nothing to support your claims.
Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!