By
Svetlana Soroka
April 18th, 2024
Ford CEO added that the company has “every intention” to become the leading electric pickup maker globally.
With the continuous growth in the EV space, Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is focusing on overtaking Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) as the global leader of EV makers. The bullish statement was made by the company’s CEO, Jim Farley, who believes that Ford can make it to the number one position among other EV companies, including Tesla. Farley is backing out of his previous comment about pushing Ford to become second in the country. Impressively, the CEO is now projecting the highest position in the global market, not just within the US.
Unlike when he said Ford plans to be the No.2 in EV sales in America by mid-decade, Farley did not put a time frame on the new projection. Speaking at the production launch of the electric F-150 Lightning pickup, he said:
“We plan to challenge Tesla and all comers to become the top EV maker in the world. That’s something that no one would have believed just two years ago from us. They’re going to look at this truck and believe it.”
Ford Plans to Top Tesla as Global EVs Leader
The CEO added that Ford has “every intention” to become the leading electric pickup maker globally. He said that the time frame for actualizing the dream is based on its product execution over the next four years. In his words, “all we [Ford] can control is the next four years, the next cycle of products.
According to Farley, Ford is planning to be capable of manufacturing 600,000 EVs by the coming year. The vehicles include 200 Ford Mach E-crossovers and 150,000 Lightnings.
The number of EVs Ford hopes to produce in 2021 is lower than the 930,000 EVs Tesla delivered in 2021. By 2026, Ford said its plan is to be able to produce 2 million EVs globally.
Farley noted that Ford produced 2,000 F-150 Lightnings within the first two weeks of production. The F-150 Lightning has different varieties: Pro SR, Pro ER, XLT SR, SLT ER, Lariat SR, Lariat ER, and Platinum.
As Ford intensified its EV race, the company recently partnered with German multinational company Volkswagen Group. The agreement is for Ford to manufacture EVs using Volkswagen modular electric-drive platform, MEB. Under the partnership, Ford will develop as many as 1.2 million vehicles in the next six years. Volkswagen management board member Thomas Schmall said:
“Profitability and speed are now crucial for finally achieving the breakthrough of e-mobility in Europe. We are tackling both together with Ford. Today’s agreement will further accelerate the electrification of the two companies.”
Ford stock is currently up 0.88% to $14.84 at pre-market trading. The company has gained more than 18% in the last twelve months.