Ford on its future

By CARSIFU | 19 March 2018


DEARBORN (United States): By 2020, Ford will offer North America’s freshest lineup among all full-line automakers, with its average showroom age dropping from 5.7 to 3.3 years as it replaces three-quarters of its lineup and adds four new trucks and SUVs.

The company with the 'blue oval' announced that it is going all-in on hybrids, offering customers more performance and capability yet serving as a hedge against higher fuel prices.

Additionally, all of its new vehicles will have 4G LTE connectivity by the end of 2019, while introducing its Co-Pilot360 driver-assist technology package with standard automatic emergency braking and helps protect from the front, rear and sides.

For the moment, the American carmaker is looking to strengthen its position in the truck, SUV (off-road and performance versions), hybrids, battery electric vehicle and commercial vehicle segments.

Trucks: Since the debut of the new F-150 in 2014 with a high-strength military-grade aluminium-alloy body, the company has managed to gain an additional 1.3% market share of the full-size pickup segment in America.

Ford’s truck business will continue growing as the company adds new models and powertrains with an eye toward continued growth in high-end trims. Some highlights include: a new 3.0-liter Power Stroke® diesel engine for F-150 and updated version of the popular F-150 Raptor in 2018; the return of Ranger to the midsize truck segment and the debut of a new F-Series Super Duty in 2019; and a new F-150 with new hybrid powertrain featuring a mobile generator in 2020.


According to the company, its average F-Series transaction prices lead the segment – up US$6,700 (RM26,240) per vehicle since 2014 – because of high-end versions like the Lariat, King Ranch and Platinum. Ford’s F-Series revenues alone are higher than revenues of the Fortune 500 icons such as Facebook, Coca-Cola and Nike.

Ford’s truck business will continue growing as the company adds new models and powertrains with an eye towards continued growth in high-end trims.

Some highlights include:
2018 - New 3.0-liter Power Stroke® diesel engine for F-150, updated version of the popular F-150 Raptor

2019 - Ranger returns to midsize truck segment; new F-Series Super Duty debuts

2020 - New F-150 debuts with new hybrid powertrain featuring a mobile generator

By 2020, Ford estimates SUV sales could account for 50% of U.S. industry retail sales – one reason Ford is reallocating USD$7 billion (RM28bil) in capital from cars to SUVs and has plans for an industry-leading lineup of eight SUVs – five of which will offer hybrid powertrains and one battery electric.

Sales in the SUV segment are estimated to grow 20% – more than double the industry rate – to more than 950,000 by 2020, according to LMC Automotive, and surpass 1 million by 2021.

Ford will grow its lineup of performance SUVs. Two additions to the Ford Performance lineup include the all-new Edge ST later this year, and an Explorer ST will soon follow.


After recently introducing an all-new model at each end of the SUV spectrum – the subcompact EcoSport and full-size Expedition – Ford’s next push is in the highest volume SUV segments.

Entirely new versions of the Escape and Explorer will debut next year and when combined, these two models will make up 70% of the company's SUV volume.

Ford also plans to drive growth with two all-new off-road models: the new Bronco and a yet-to-be-named off-road small utility – both designed to win a growing number of people who love getting away and spending time outdoors with their families and friends.

The all-new Ford Bronco will be one of eight SUVs in Ford’s North American lineup by 2020 — and one of two off-road SUV offerings.


“Ford helped start the off-road phenomenon and has majored in off-road capability for decades – from the Bronco to the Raptor,” said Jim Farley, Ford president, Global Markets. “Now, we’re ready to reclaim our rightful place as the off-road vehicle leader.”

Ford also will grow its lineup of performance SUVs. Two additions to the Ford Performance lineup include the all-new Edge ST later this year, and an Explorer ST will soon follow. These two new SUVs will help Ford Performance deliver on its promise of 12 new models by 2020, and will help extend the division’s growth, which has risen 81% in the last four years.

Ford Performance sales are on track to grow another 71% by 2020, driven by SUVs.

Next-Gen Hybrid Electrics: Part of Ford’s new strategy includes going all-in on hybrids to bring more capability to customers of our most popular and high-volume vehicles like F-150, Mustang, Explorer, Escape and Bronco – and serve as a hedge for customers against higher gas prices.

The all-new Mustang Shelby® GT500® will help Ford Performance deliver on its promise of 12 new models by 2020, and will help extend the division’s growth, which has risen 81 percent in the last four years. Ford Performance sales are on track to grow another 71 percent by 2020.


Ford’s new hybrids will offer customers more space than today’s hybrids. On the F-150 Hybrid, Ford will lean in to capability, such as the low-end torque for extra pulling power and the fact that it can serve as a mobile generator. Mustang Hybrid will be all about delivering V8-like performance with more low-end torque.

“Hybrids for years have been mostly niche products but are now on the cusp of a mainstream breakout,” Farley said. “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.”

Ford’s new hybrid system is designed to be more efficient and less expensive than previous generations. These lower costs – achieved through supply base relationships, using common cell and component design and by manufacturing motors, transmissions and battery packs – with the intention of lowering cost of ownership for customers.

Battery electric vehicles: Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) represent more than a different powertrain – they represent a lifestyle change for consumers, especially for those who have never driven an electric vehicle.

That is why Ford’s strategy includes rethinking the ownership experience so it is more seamless than with today’s gas-powered vehicles. That means making charging an effortless experience at home and on the road as well as offering full-vehicle over-the-air software updates to enhance capability and features.

“Throwing a charger in the trunk of a vehicle and sending customers on their way isn’t enough to help promote the viability of electric vehicles,” said Sherif Marakby, vice president, Autonomous and Electric Vehicles. “In addition to expanding our electric vehicle lineup, we are redesigning the ownership experience to ensure it addresses customer pain points that currently hold back broad adoption today.”

Ford’s BEV manufacturing plan will be more efficient. The company will halve floor space for final assembly operations and reduce capital investment 50%. A projected 30% improvement in labour efficiency will allow Ford to redeploy employees to do other jobs, including assembly of battery packs (which are normally expensive and complex to ship).

Ford’s new performance battery electric utility arrives in 2020. It is the first of six electric vehicles coming by 2022 as part of the company’s USD$11bil (RM44bil) global electric vehicle investment.

Commercial vehicles: Ford, the only full-line brand with offerings that stretch from Class 1 to Class 7, has a commanding 38% share of the U.S. commercial vehicle market. Last year, it sold more CVs than the second, third and fourth place competitors combined.

To continue building on its commercial vehicle leadership, Ford plans to: debut a new Transit with 4G LTE connectivity, coming in 2019; extend production of its E-Series cutaway and stripped chassis into the 2020s; and offer automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, driver alert system and more on future E-Series, F-650, F-750 and F59 chassis products.


To continue building on its commercial vehicle leadership, Ford plans to:

  • Debut a new Transit with 4G LTE connectivity, coming in 2019

  • Extend production of its E-Series cutaway and stripped chassis into the 2020s

  • Offer Automatic Emergency Braking, Lane Departure Warning, Driver Alert

  • System and more on future E-Series, F-650, F-750 and F59 chassis products

  • Ford earlier this year introduced new versions of its Transit Connect Cargo Van and Transit Connect Wagon, with both arriving at dealerships later this year.


Designing a better PD system

While delivering this new vehicle portfolio, Ford is continuously improving its operational fitness by increasing product speed to market, improving quality and further reducing complexity, and reducing cost. Driving improvements are the company’s new structure and new tools and technologies that drive even more human-centred designs.

Ford’s new organisation is designed to ensure company leaders view market and regional demands holistically to decide which vehicles and features customers value most.

This drives more strategic and efficient investments, instead of trying to satisfy individual market requests. The efficiencies benefit the company and individual regions like North America.

Ford also is moving to flexible vehicle architectures and more common parts across models, cutting new product development time – from sketch to dealer showroom – by 20%. This is helping Ford achieve its commitment to deliver $4 billion of engineering efficiencies. The company intends to have the most efficient Product Development organisation among full-line automakers within five years.

Ford’s five flexible vehicle architectures – body-on-frame, front-wheel-drive unibody, rear-wheel-drive unibody, commercial van unibody and BEV – are paired with module “families” that address the power pack, electrical pack and vehicle configurations. Seventy percent of each vehicle’s engineering will be driven from this new architecture approach, with 30% of content – including grilles, hoods, doors and more – customised for each vehicle.

For instance, as more vehicles become connected, new analytics tools will show which vehicle technologies customers use most often. This new data-driven insight will help determine which features to grow and invest in and which to eliminate, reducing manufacturing complexity, improving pricing, reducing incentives and building revenue over time.

Simplification is another key aspect of the plan. Ford already has reduced orderable combinations on Ford SUVs by 80% since 2014, including a 97% reduction on the new Edge coming later this year.

New manufacturing tools and technologies: Increased use of augmented and virtual reality are helping reduce Ford’s plant changeover time by an estimated 25%, which adds an average $50 million to the company’s bottom line per changeover.

Simulating various production processes and assembly line configurations in the virtual world helps identify potentially hazardous manoeuvres and fine-tune workflows before construction even begins, saving an estimated 20% of tooling cost on each vehicle program.

The company also is increasing its use of collaborative robots that can perform jobs quickly and repetitively, helping reduce the risk of injury to employees, freeing them up for more high-value jobs and improving the company’s bottom line.

“We’re looking at every part of our business, making it more fit and ensuring that every action we take is driven by what will serve our customers in a way that supports our fitness and performance goals,” said Joe Hinrichs, president, Global Operations.


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