While Ford is often seen as your grandpa’s favorite stock, CEO Jim Farley is determined to make it the biggest name in the EV business.
Ford Motors (NYSE: F) is sick of the electric vehicle (EV) market being ‘the one that got away’ and is determined to do something about it.
With a multi-billion-dollar pledge and ambitious plans, can Ford overtake Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA)?
What is Ford’s game plan?
“This is our biggest opportunity for growth and value creation since Henry Ford started to scale the Model T, and we’re grabbing it with both hands.”
Strong words from Ford CEO Jim Farley regarding his ‘Ford+’ plan, but what does Ford+ mean? (No, it’s not a new, car-themed streaming service, thank God…)
Ford+ is the auto-dinosaur’s plan to achieve an 8% adjusted profit margin by 2023. For context: Ford’s adjusted profit margin was 4.1% in 2019, followed by 2.2% in 2020, thanks to COVID-19.
The EV market is a massive part of these plans, with the company investing $30 billion into developing electric versions of its most iconic products while estimating that 40% of all Ford cars sold will be electric by 2030. If these ambitions are met, it would make Ford a force to reckon with in the EV space.
Just 40% of its 2020 vehicle sales would amount to 17 million deliveries — 34X the number of vehicles Tesla delivered in 2020.
But while words are all well and good, actions are better. Tesla should be selling a lot more than half a million vehicles by 2030, while Ford has a mountain to climb to reach these targets.
So, we still have a long way to go before Ford’s plan becomes a reality. But, with a massive brand and a cash pile of more than $50 billion — as well as profitability — Ford suddenly looks to be a credible investment in the EV space.
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