Ford Raises Investment in EV & AV Leadership Up To $29 Billion

US automaker Ford Motor Company has announced to increase investments in electric vehicles (EVs) and autonomous vehicles to USD 29 billion. The company ended 2020 strongly, improving its automotive and credit businesses in the fourth quarter.

Speaking of their achievements, Ford President and CEO Jim Farley stated, “The transformation of Ford is happening and so is our leadership of the EV revolution and development of autonomous driving.”

“We’re now allocating a combined USD 29 billion in the capital and tremendous talent to these two areas, and bringing customers high-volume, connected electric SUVs, commercial vans, and pickup trucks,” he emphasized on their investments.

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Farley said Ford will now invest at least USD 22 billion in electrification through 2025, nearly twice what the company had previously committed to EVs. He said the company is ‘all in and will not cede ground to anyone’ in developing and delivering connected EVs and services in mainstream areas of strength for Ford: pickups, commercial vans, and SUVs.

“We are accelerating all our plans – breaking constraints, increasing battery capacity, improving costs, and getting more electric vehicles into our product cycle plan. People are responding to what Ford is doing today, not someday,” Farley said.

He further said that the Mustang Mach-E is receiving great customer and critical reviews, and will be followed by the first E-Transit commercial van (late 2021) and an all-electric F-150 pickup (mid2022). EVs will be fundamental to the Lincoln luxury brand and the Transit commercial lineup, the latter across a variety of body styles and customized interiors.

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However, for autonomous vehicles, Ford plans to invest about USD 7 billion over 10 years through 2025 – USD 5 billion of that from 2021 forward – as part of its Ford Mobility initiatives.

In fourth-quarter 2020, the company generated USD 1.9 billion in adjusted free cash flow and ended the year with sequentially higher cash (nearly USD 31 billion) and total liquidity (almost USD 47 billion).

“We are profoundly changing the trajectory of our earnings power, unlocking the tremendous value Ford can create for customers, shareholders, and other stakeholders,” said John Lawler, Ford’s chief financial officer.