Posted on 01/15/2018 12:58:38 PM PST by cp124
Ford Motor Co. will more than double spending on electrified vehicles, amplifying its investment in a segment that the auto industry sees growing from what’s now just a fraction of the market.
The carmaker will shell out $11 billion bringing 40 electrified vehicles to market by 2022, Jim Farley, president of global markets, said during a presentation at the Detroit auto show. That’s up from the $4.5 billion that Ford said in late 2015 it would invest through the end of the decade.
“This $11 billion you’re seeing, that means we’re all in now,” Executive Chairman Bill Ford told reporters in Detroit. “The only question is will the customers be there with us and we think they will.”
After electric-vehicle darling Tesla Inc. surpassed Ford in market value last year, the second-largest U.S. automaker replaced then-Chief Executive Officer Mark Fields. His replacement Jim Hackett has vowed to cut costs and drop some car models from the lineup to refocus the company’s future on sport utility vehicles, trucks and electrification.
With battery costs declining rapidly and regulators around the globe cracking down on the internal combustion engine, automakers have been rushing to step up their game with regards to all-electric models. While the segment comprises less that 1% of annual deliveries in the U.S., global demand is expected to rise as governments phase out gasoline and diesel engines and batteries reach price parity with traditional powertrains.
Tougher Standards Ford expects fuel economy and pollution standards to get tougher, “and rightfully so,” said Raj Nair, head of Ford’s North American operations.
“We believe man-made CO2 is contributing to climate change and we’ve got our part to play,” he said.
The Edsel Futura.
Could be Ford feels they can produce fuel cell cars...already has the science to do so...just hitching a ride on Tesla's success.
No, Bill, that is not the "only question." There is one other very important question you need to ask - "where is the electricity going to come from?" I KNOW where my gasoline comes from.
OK so what do they have for heat(Cab and defroster)- And electric heater. That will draw more power than the motors. How far are you going to go with the heater running?
It is amazing how efficient an internal combustion engine becomes in a cold climate because even the heat from the engine is put to good use.
Nah, just be prepared for a 2-hour "refueling" break every four hours or so. You can get to know all the local Popeye's Chicken joints and Starbucks coast-to-coast.
Fix or Repair Daily
Tesla is subsidized by the government, is it not?
Ha...just in time for the start of the next ice age....if the Sun doesn't make any sunspots by then.
Therein lies a big part of the problem for electric motors that many people don't realize. The Detroit companies, along with Nissan, Toyota, Mercedes, Isuzu, et al., get much of their profits from fleet truck sales.
Someone needs to tell the Chairman of Ford that semi's and medium sized transport trucks won't be using electric motors by his target date unless a new technology is discovered and as efficient as fossil fuels.
I doubt it will be advancements in battery, fuel-cells, or the design of power-trains. I doubt anyone living today is going to see the end of fossil fuels. Natural gas still has to be excavated by drilling, even though that is the trend of powering large vehicles.
As long as there is some affordable gasoline to power my 1958 Chevy Impala, let innovation do its thing. I'll be dead by then and my Impala in a museum. Ha!
Oh yeah, what’s the next model going to be, the Ford Faggot?
I was forced to sit through a Presentation from a Wall Street investment dude this week who was convinced that electric cars are “Taking over the world because, they’re just better”.
This same guy predicted the US Fiscal deficit THIS YEAR would be $1.2 Trillion.. (I made a $100 wager with him that it would be below $1 Trillion).
He showed a number of countries.. like India... that are mandating all-electric cars by 2030.... puh-lease.
His kicker, ie: closing argument was: The HUGE DOLLARS invested in Tesla. SO MANY PEOPLE betting with their dollars CAN’T be wrong!
Except, when they are..
My husband’s aunt was a buyer for Ford and made over a million on Ford stock. She left it to all the nieces and nephews when she passed in 2013. Very, very happy they didn’t invest in electric cars back then.
I can’t even remember the names of all the companies that never made a profit and went Chapter 7 (not 11) in 2001. You know, those amazing Dot Com companies that were can’t miss leading edge technology outfits?
In capitalism, consumers drive improvements and demand better technology, and their purchases drive company behavior. In communism, the government tells you what technology you will use and you will like it. Electric cars are the later.
Flipped Over Rebuilt Dodge
shhh - I need these old codgers to keep buying trucks with huuuuggggeeee engines that they drive 80 miles an hour getting 3 MPG - so my oil company stocks keep paying huge dividends.
I went to the very millennial Tesla website.
While I should have done a CTRLC on the claims of heating and air conditioning capacity, I found their estimates of driving range on hot or cold days to be obviously optimistic. Oh, and the batteries degrade with time.
The also have a big investment in human-powered vehicles, AKA bicycles.
You make my point above. Unless ET brings down some sort of energy that can independently power every car, truck, house, farm, factory, entire cities, etc., we will depend on electricity as the mother power source.
Anyone of my age (68) knows how such huge amounts of electricity is generated. Until fusion is a reality, we will depend on coal, natural gas, nuke, and water flow to power turbines that generate electricity. Solar, wind, tides, algae are not enough for big-scale energy requirements.
The scientists that told us that fossil fuels are running out, were wrong. Other scientists told us the next Ice Age is coming back in early '70's. The same government-funded scare mongers are telling us about AGW. Hell, I remember when there were 9 planets...now only 8. I've lost faith in scientists, but not science when properly researched without bias.
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