Since 1903 Ford Motor Company has been the top dog in the automobile world, but as technology Advances and Electric cars become the new best thing Ford has quickly fallen behind some of their biggest competitors. With large investments and new partnerships Ford is slowly regaining it power.
The Rivalry Between Ford and GM
General Motors, one of Ford’s major competitors since the dawn of the century, is quickly pulling away from the side-by-side race to automotive domination. For years Ford and GM have gone cuff to cuff. In the early 1960s Ford had put together the grandfather of the modern day muscle car: It was the Mustang. After seeing Ford’s success with the mustang, General Motors turned to its engineers to come up with the next big muscle car. It only took 2 years but in 1966 GM came out with the Chevy Camaro. The Camaro quickly gave Ford a run for its money. As the new generations of mustangs and Camaros came out, Ford and Chevy continue to land blows to on each other left and right(Nasir). Ford would create the Bronco and Chevy would answer back with the Blazer. The the competition between Ford and GM still continues to this day.
GM Announces Electric Models
As Ford started to work towards cars with better MPGs without sacrificing power, GM was looking towards the future. With over 20 hybrid cars on the market GM is looking to make more. Earlier this year GM executives announced “its entire global fleet would largely be electric by 2035” (McHugh). GM also has plans to produce 20 fully electric cars by the year 2023, with the hopes of eventually ditching fossil fuels altogether(Marshall ). GM hopes to be the new face of the electric car world. With many governments like the US pushing for more ecofriendly vehicles, GM is trying to make the best of the situation. By switching to all electric, GM is able to branch out into more countries where electric cars are being sold as a primary form of transport. To help show GM’s commitment to making a better more friendly future they have redesigned their logo to make the M look more like a plug.
Ford Starts to Catch Up
Right now Ford only has one electric model car on the market. The mustang Moc-E is currently Ford’s only electric car. The company plans to change that in the next couple of years. In a press conference, Ford announced that “by mid-2026, 100% of its passenger vehicle range in Europe will be zero-emissions capable, all-electric or plug-in hybrid: moving to all-electric by 2030″(“Ford”). Fords drive for fully electric cars is backed by a 1 billion dollar investment into a new manufacturing facility to help facilitate the production of Fords new electric models. In an article published by Ford corporate, it states “Ford’s drive to a fully electric future spearheaded by a $1 billion investment in a new electric vehicle manufacturing center in Cologne; company’s first European-built, volume all-electric passenger vehicle for European customers will roll off the lines in Cologne starting in 2023″(“Ford)”.
Photo By Associated Press
Ford hopes that this investment will help them build and spread their reach into Europe and Asia. In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, Ford said that “that electric cars are the key to growth and profitability in Europe”. In Europe most taxis and government vehicles are made by Tesla. Tesla is electric car company based out of California. They have quickly grown to be one of the major car companies of the decade and a large competitor in the electric car world. With the hopes of beating out Tesla, Ford has launched a major campaign into the production of and sale of electric cars in Europe. Ford would also like to create a larger presence in Asia. According to Aarian Marshall “Chinese drivers buy half the world’s EVs, and new regulations demand manufacturers’(Marshall) “. These electric vehicles account for 12 percent of their Chinese automotive sales. The Chinese government hopes to limit the amount of emissions pollution that is created by its large commuter base. With the biggest population in the world, China leads many countries in the production of green house emissions. China has passed regulations on vehicles to help limit the production of the emissions. Like the US, China is recommending that it citizens buy more electric vehicles. This is a major opportunity that Ford hopes to pounce on to be able to expand and grow their company in Europe and Asia.
Back State side Ford hopes to increase the sale of electric cars. Ford has started to reach out to different companies to help improve and better their cars. Earlier in the year the car manufacturer closed a major deal with the Tech Giant GOOGLE. The partnership came after Ford announced that it would be making more electric cars. Ford hopes the partnership with Google will improve in-car connectivity, in-car infotainment systems, over the air up dates to the artificial intelligence and much more(Wayland, Novet). Ford hopes the deal will improve customer satisfaction and overall safety in their vehicles. Hopefully Ford’s upgrades to their vehicles will help improve their sales. Is Ford’s efforts a little to late, Only time will tell.
Work Cited
-, Rochdi Rais, et al. “FORD to Go All-Electric , CEO Says 2021 Is Our Year.” USA Herald, 5 Feb. 2021, usaherald.com/ford-to-go-all-electric-ceo-says-2021-is-our-year/.
“FORD EUROPE GOES ALL-IN ON EVS ON ROAD TO SUSTAINABLE PROFITABILITY; COLOGNE SITE BEGINS $1 BILLION TRANSFORMATION.” Ford Corporate, corporate.ford.com/articles/sustainability/ford-europe-goes-all-in-on-evs.html.
Marshall, Aarian. “Ford Is Finally Making Its Big Move Into Electric Cars.” Wired, Conde Nast, 17 Jan. 2018, www.wired.com/story/ford-electric-cars-plan-mach-1-suv/.
McHugh, Tom Krisher and David. “Ford ‘Going All-in’ on Electric Vehicles in Europe: All Its Cars to Be EVs by 2030.” Chicagotribune.com, Chicago Tribune, 17 Feb. 2021, www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-ford-ev-europe-20210217-vtpnsdl4h5hcpjqmaibtwefomu-story.html.
Michael Wayland, Jordan Novet. “Ford and Google Sign Six-Year Deal for in-Car Connectivity and Cloud Services.” CNBC, CNBC, 1 Feb. 2021, www.cnbc.com/2021/02/01/ford-and-google-sign-six-year-deal-for-android-in-car-apps-cloud.html.
Nasir, Leena. “15 Surprising Facts About The First Camaro Ever Built.” TheThings, 15 Surprising Facts About The First Camaro Ever Built | TheThings.
