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☆ Automakers find a tax credit loophole to increase EV leasing and boost sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Buying a used Ioniq, which is produced in South Korea and Indonesia, wouldn't earn him $7,500 off through a federal tax credit. "I ran the numbers — what it would be without the leasing credit and with the leasing credit — and that kind of put me over the top and that was the main thing of why I went in that direction," he said. For a $50,000 EV and a 36-month lease, Chesbrough estimates the full $7,500 tax credit equates to $222 in monthly savings for a consumer. "It also allows them to level the playing field against competitors who get the full tax credit when purchasing." I wouldn't call it leveling the playing field," Watson said of leasing qualifying for the $7,500 tax credit.

The company for the first time broke out financial results for its Ford Blue, Ford Pro and Ford Model e units. Ford Blue earnings before interest and taxes doubled to $2.56 billion, a margin of 10.4%, and Ford Pro EBIT nearly tripled to $1.4 billion, a margin of 10.3%. For 2023, the automaker expects full-year EBIT for Ford Blue to climb slightly to $7 billion, while Ford Pro EBIT could nearly double, to almost $6 billion. Its combustion-vehicle business, Ford Blue, averaged pretax profit of $3,715 a vehicle, while the Ford Pro commercial business earned $4,053 per vehicle, based on the company's financial data. Most of the pricing improvement Ford achieved during the quarter came from the company's Ford Pro commercial vehicles.

☆ Ford posts stellar first quarter, boosted by fleet and legacy truck divisions
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

DETROIT — Ford Motor on Tuesday reported first-quarter results that significantly topped Wall Street's estimates, as the automaker's fleet and legacy operations outweighed growing losses in electric vehicles. Ford finance chief John Lawler said the quarter was a "peek at what's possible to generate value and growth." The company reiterated it expects full-year adjusted earnings between $9 billion and $11 billion and roughly $6 billion in adjusted free cash flow. Ford said it plans to have capital expenditures of between $8 billion and $9 billion in 2023. Ford also reconfirmed it expects to lose about $3 billion from its electric vehicle operations, known as Model e, in 2023.

☆ The $25,000 electric vehicle is coming, with big implications for the auto market and car buyers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Tim Mullaney | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

And as the Biden administration pushes changes that seek to aggressively remake the car market in favor of EVs more quickly than previously anticipated. Tesla's lowest-priced model today is the Model 3 base MSRP of $41,990. There are also more financing options available in the auto loan market designed specifically for environmentally friendly cars. "There's nothing wrong with having a basic car as a first car. Tesla said its overall efforts have driven the cost of drive units, which include the car's electric motor, as low as $1,000.

As the image shows, on an earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) basis, Ford Model e had a profit margin of roughly negative 40% in 2022. Ford Motor disclosed on Thursday that its electric vehicle unit, called Ford Model e, lost $2.1 billion in 2022 — and could lose as much as $3 billion in 2023. Here, step by step, is how Lawler said Ford expects Model e to get to a positive 8% EBIT profit margin in under four years:Scale. Ford expects to have the capacity to build EVs at a rate of 2 million per year by the end of 2026. Ford expects to have the capacity to build EVs at a rate of 2 million per year by the end of 2026.

☆ Ford CFO on its EV business losing $2 billion in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailFord CFO on its EV business losing $2 billion in 2022Ford CFO John Lawler joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss when Ford's electric vehicle business will become profitable, how Lawler would counter those who disagree with Ford's growth strategy, and more.

☆ Ford says it will burn $3 billion on EVs this year, in a bleak signal for the cars that underpin its future
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Nora Naughton | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ford Chief Financial Officer John Lawler rationalized the expected losses on a call with reporters by explaining that Ford Model e exists as an "EV startup within Ford." As part of this restructuring, Ford created Model e, the EV division, Ford Blue, the gas-powered vehicle division, and Ford Pro, the commercial vehicle division. For now, Ford says, its Blue and Pro divisions will be driving profits while Model e loses money. While Model e is slated to lose money this year, Ford provided profitable projections for its Blue and Pro divisions this year. For 2023, Ford Blue is expected to earn about $7 billion for the company, while Ford Pro's earnings before taxes are expected to near $6 billion, the company said Thursday.

☆ Ford sees $3 billion pretax loss in its EV business this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Paul Lienert | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 23 (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (F.N) expects its electric vehicle business unit to lose $3 billion this year, but remains on track to achieve a pretax margin of 8% by late 2026, the company said. Starting with first-quarter results, which will be announced on May 2, Ford will begin reporting by business unit for Model e (electric vehicles), Blue (combustion vehicles) and Pro (commercial vehicles and services). Ford projects Model e’s cumulative three-year loss from 2021-2023 at $6 billion, including a pro-forma loss last year of $2.1 billion, but expects the unit to be profitable on a pretax basis before the end of 2026. Last year, Ford had a pretax loss of $600 million in China, broke even in Europe and posted a modest $400 million profit in South America, with most of its earnings before interest and taxes - $9.2 billion - coming from North America. The company expects its Ford Pro commercial vehicle business to nearly double pretax profit this year to $6 billion, while the traditional Ford Blue business should see a modest increase to $7 billion.

☆ Ford's EV business lost $2 billion in 2022, offset by big profits in fleet and legacy units
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( John Rosevear | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The badge of a Ford Motor Co. E-Transit electric vehicle during a presentation in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, July 28, 2021. Ford Motor said Thursday its electric vehicle business lost $2.1 billion last year on an operating basis, a loss that was more than offset by $10 billion in operating profit between its internal combustion and fleet businesses. The Detroit automaker expects 2023 to unfold along similar lines, forecasting an adjusted loss of $3 billion for its EV unit, adjusted earnings of about $7 billion for its internal combustion unit, and adjusted earnings of roughly $6 billion for its fleet business. Those revised results show that while Ford Model e, the company's EV unit, lost $2.1 billion last year, Ford Blue and Ford Pro generated $6.8 billion and $3.2 billion of adjusted operating income, respectively. Those 2022 Model e losses more than doubled unit losses from 2021, as the company continues to ramp up EV production.

☆ Biden taps CEOs of 3M, CVS, FedEx, Citi, others to join his Export Council on trade
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. President Joe Biden has appointed the heads of Citigroup , United Airlines , CVS , 3M and FedEx , among other top executives, to sit on a White House advisory committee overseeing international trade. The President's Export Council gives recommendations and insight into the ways government policies impact U.S. trade performance. The group also provides feedback on how Biden's trade policies are affecting businesses across sectors from industry and labor to agriculture. She previously served as chief operating officer and group president of Starbucks and CEO of Sam's Club. The Export Council features expertise from labor, real estate, national security and law, and leaders of Fortune 200 companies.

Ford can save up to $2.5 billion this year through better management of production schedules and a drop in commodity prices, the company's chief financial officer, John Lawler, said at an auto conference. The automaker posted dismal quarterly results earlier this month and blamed chip shortages, supply chain disruptions and production "instabilities" for adding to its costs. Lawler has said Ford faces $5 billion in higher costs this year and that the company will be "very aggressive" in reducing expenses in its manufacturing, supply chain and distribution operations. Longer term, the company aims to reduce dealer inventories and drive more transactions online, among other measures, according to Chief Executive Jim Farley. Making an EV more aerodynamic can save "thousands of dollars in battery costs," Farley said.

☆ Ford to cut 3,800 engineering, administration jobs in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Ford (F.N) plans to cut 3,800 product development and administration jobs in Europe in the next three years, the company said on Tuesday, citing rising costs and the need for a leaner structure as it pivots production to electric vehicles. The news comes as a blow to unions who said in late January the worst-case scenario was 2,500 job cuts in Europe in product development and a further 700 in administration. The cuts were needed to "revitalise business in Europe", Ford said in a statement. Lawler also said at the time that productivity of engineers in Europe was 25-30% lower than it should be. Ford is due to launch its first electric vehicle in Europe built on Volkswagen's MEB platform in Cologne later this year and is considering bringing a Ford platform to Europe, possibly to its plant in Valencia, Sander said.

GM told Reuters that it is working to streamline how many unique kinds of chips are in its cars. But it is securing capacity for its suppliers to have the chips made because the overall number of chips is expected to rise. By the end of 2023, almost 18 million vehicles will have been removed from production plans since the chip shortage began, according to Auto Forecast Solutions. The auto chip shortage dramatically changed the way carmakers deal with their chip suppliers, with whom they previously rarely had direct contact. Several auto companies have now created teams and divisions to better secure chip supply and think about the design of digital platforms for cars going forward.

☆ Ford works council in Germany to update staff on job cut talks on Feb 14
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Feb 7 (Reuters) - The Ford Motor Co (F.N) works council in Cologne, Germany invited workers to a meeting on Feb 14 to update them on negotiations with management over planned job cuts at Ford's plants in Europe, a union representative said on Tuesday. Ford said in late January it would decide by mid-February how many jobs would be lost in the region after the works council at its Cologne plant, which supports the interests of employees, informed employees that up to 3,200 roles may be cut in the worst-case scenario. Productivity of Ford's engineers in Europe was 25-30% lower than it should be, Chief Financial Officer John Lawler added on the call. The works council in Cologne has demanded that management commit to no layoffs before Dec. 31, 2032, and that the roughly 2,500 product development staff there remain part of the automaker's global development landscape. Reporting by Christina Amann, Victoria Waldersee; additional reporting by Ben Klayman, Joe White; Editing by Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Tesla or Ford? Analysts name their favorite stock as the EV race heats up
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Ford's EV sales – currently at 3.6% of its monthly total sales – have been a major focus of Wall Street. Amid talk of an EV pricing war , who will win: Tesla, or Ford? Ford Bank of America in a Jan. 30 note called both Ford and Tesla's decision to cut prices "odd." Tesla Most analysts seem to be more optimistic on Tesla at present. For Tesla, analysts have an average price target upside of 1.8%, and 65% have a buy rating on the stock.

"We're going to see in 2023, there is still going to be volatility around chips," Ford Chief Financial Officer John Lawler said on Thursday. By the end of 2023, almost 18 million vehicles will have been removed from production plans since the chip shortage started, according to Auto Forecast Solutions. Japan's Denso Corp (6902.T), a leading supplier to Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T), on Friday slashed its annual profit forecast and warned the chip shortage could cause auto production cuts. Toyota in November cut its vehicle production projection for the current financial year through March due to the chip shortage. The head of another auto supplier, Aptiv Plc (APTV.N), which makes advanced driver assistance systems, vehicle computers and high-voltage cabling, said the impact of the chip shortage is not evenly felt.

Ford blamed chip shortages and other supply chain issues and production "instabilities" that raised costs, along with lower-than-expected volumes. Ford shares dropped more than 6% in after-market trading. Lawler said Ford faces $5 billion in higher costs this year, but has kept the mid-range of its profit guidance flat with 2022. Ford expects full-year adjusted pretax earnings of $9 billion to $11 billion. Adjusted pretax earnings were $2.6 billion, compared with $2.0 billion last year.

☆ Ford hits back at Tesla's price cuts by lopping nearly $6,000 off the Mustang Mach-E
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Nora Naughton | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The price reductions for the Mustang Mach-E vary by trim level and performance package. At the highest end, the Mach-E GT with extended range now goes for $63,995, a $5,900 reduction from the previous price. Elon Musk's long-term play on the price cuts, which Deutsche Bank estimates could cost the company $7 billion in profits this year, could protect its customer base amid rising competition and increase its market share. Gjaja would not say how the price cuts impact Mach-E's profitability, only saying it would vary by trim level. Ford CEO Jim Farley has publicly set his sights on Tesla, vowing last spring to unseat Musk's car company as the top seller of electric vehicles.

☆ Ford vs. GM: Same Industry, two increasingly different companies
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

In this article FGM Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTJim Farley, CEO, Ford, left, and Mary Barra, CEO, General Motors Reuters; General MotorsDETROIT — "Same industry. GM has gained an edge in recent years on the back of better financials and early moves into electric and autonomous vehicles. GM most recently reported third-quarter results that, compared to Ford, knocked it out of the park. The investment cases for America's largest automakers are increasingly diverging as the companies — separated by just $1 billion in market value — have taken different tacks around electric and autonomous vehicles. Ford expects at least 40% of its sales globally to be electric vehicles by the end of this decade.

☆ Analysis: Ford, VW pop the automated-vehicle bubble with Argo AI exit
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Paul Lienert | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

DETROIT, Oct 26 (Reuters) - The road map to fully self-driving vehicles is being rewritten once again, this time by Ford Motor Co (F.N) and Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE). VW also bought Argo shares from Ford for $500 million. Ford previously injected $1 billion into Argo when it bought control of the company in 2017. Before it acquired the stake in Argo, VW flirted with at least two other U.S.-based self-driving startups: Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Waymo and Aurora Innovation (AUR.O). VW reportedly considered a $13.7 billion investment in 2018 in Waymo for a 10% stake that would have valued Waymo at $137 billion.

DETROIT, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (F.N) on Wednesday reported a third-quarter net loss driven by its decision to shift spending from the Argo AI self-driving business. Ford posted a net loss in the quarter of $827 million, after taking a $2.7 billion noncash pretax impairment on its investment in Argo AI. The automaker said Argo will be "wound down" and that "talented engineers" will be offered positions with Ford. Chief Executive Jim Farley on Wednesday said Ford will shift its development focus away from fully self-driving systems developed by Argo to advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) created internally at Ford. GM on Tuesday reported a net profit of $3.3 billion on record third-quarter revenue of $41.9 billion.

☆ Ford Puts Focus on Electric-Vehicles Market With Management Changes
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Sabela Ojea | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Ford Motor said it is enhancing its position in the electric-vehicles market and global supply chain through changes in its leadership team. The auto maker Thursday named Doug Field as its chief advanced product development and technology officer and expanded Financial Chief John Lawler ’s role to cover global supply-chain operations on an interim basis.

☆ Ford Supply-Chain Leadership Overhaul Reflects EV Ramp Up
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Liz Young | Kristin Broughton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Ford Motor Co.’s moves to overhaul its supply-chain leadership reflect the increasingly crucial role technology is playing as the development of electric vehicles is transforming the way cars are produced. Ford said the company is seeking to align operations from sourcing and assembly to distribution with a goal of transitioning to EVs. Ford also plans to name its first chief supply-chain officer. It had sold more than 36,500 electric vehicles year-to-date through August. Ford has been working on building closer ties with its suppliers for years, but pandemic-related supply-chain snarls have made it a more urgent priority, the company spokesman said.

☆ Ford to restructure supply chain following $1 billion in unexpected quarterly costs
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

DETROIT – Ford Motor on Thursday announced plans to restructure its global supply chain, days after the company said it expects to book an extra $1 billion in unexpected supplier costs during the third quarter. The supply chain restructuring aims to "support efficient and reliable sourcing of components, internal development of key technologies and capabilities, and world-class cost and quality execution," the automaker said in a release. The increases have occurred amid severe supply chain problems, including an ongoing global shortage of crucial semiconductor chips. On Monday, Ford said recent negotiations resulted in inflation-related supplier costs running $1 billion higher than previously expected during the third quarter. He said changes to Ford's supply chain have been underway for some time amid the industry's supply chain problems and its shift to electric vehicles.

☆ As many as 45,000 Fords can’t be sold because they’re missing parts
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN Business —The still-clogged global supply chain continues to wreak havoc on the auto industry. Ford said late Monday it will end September with between 40,000 and 45,000 large pickups and SUVs that it can’t finish because it doesn’t have all the parts. The company warned late Monday that shortages and rising prices of supplies will cost it an extra $1 billion this quarter. The shortage of vehicles, combined with strong demand from consumers, has sent vehicle prices soaring to record highs. Ford and other automakers keep anticipating that the supply problems will improve.

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