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In a move described as necessary for the future of the company, Ford Motor Co. announced it would split its electric-vehicle and internal-combustion operations, creating two "distinct, but strategically interdependent" divisions within the automaker.
The Ford 150 Lightning pickup truck made sparks at its introduction (File photo)
Ford Blue will be the traditional, gas-powered automaker, while Ford Model e will produce the electric vehicles the company's leaders see as its future.
What it means for employees is unclear. The stock market approved on Wednesday, sending the automaker's stock price 8 percent higher at closing. Dealers will be asked to pick a side; the company believes the customer base for EVs and F-150 pickups, say, is so different they will want different dealer experiences. It's a big change.
Daniel Howes at The Detroit News writes:
The two new units are conceived to be complementary, not competitive. Model e, for example, will develop embedded infotainment and driver-assist systems for all Ford vehicles even as Ford Blue generates the sales volume, revenue and profit to fund Model e and drive the bottom line.
It means coming to terms with the realities of Auto Industry 2.0, where familiar models for working, for selling, for collecting revenue after the sale are being transformed by new competitors and digital technologies that speed processes, raise expectations and reshape businesses.
... It won't be an easy transformation. Nor will it be free from anxiety, change or the opportunity that can come from a partial bifurcation of a global auto business still firmly planted in North America, Europe and Asia. But it's necessary, folks, if the Blue Oval, its employees and its dealers hope to compete and prosper deeper into its second century — even to survive.
Employees will have to adjust to new realities, but those aren't certain for the moment. CEO Jim Farley promises the company will remain headquartered in Michigan, however.
