By 2020, almost 90 percent of the Ford Motor company portfolio in North America will be trucks, utilities and commercial vehicles. Given declining consumer demand and product profitability, the company will not invest in next generations of traditional Ford sedans for North America. Over the next few years, the Ford car portfolio in North America will transition to two vehicles – the best-selling Mustang and the all-new Focus Active crossover coming out next year. The company is also exploring new “white space” vehicle silhouettes that
combine the best attributes of cars and utilities, such as higher ride height, space and versatility.
Ford will stop making the Fiesta, Focus, Fusion, Taurus, and C-MAX.
The Ford Taurus had a peak sales of 400,000 in 1996 but has since fallen to about 42,000.
Ford brand targeting North America’s freshest lineup among full-line makers by 2020, replacing more than 75 percent of its current portfolio and adding four new trucks and SUVs.
By 2020, Ford estimates SUV sales could account for 50 percent of U.S. industry retail sales – one reason Ford is reallocating $7 billion in capital from cars to SUVs. By 2020, Ford plans an industry-leading lineup of eight SUVs – five of which will offer hybrid powertrains and one battery electric. Ford SUV sales are estimated to grow 20 percent – 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 make new hybrid-electric powertrains for high-volume, profitable vehicles like the F-150, Mustang, Explorer, Escape and Bronco. The company’s battery electric vehicle rollout starts in 2020 with a performance utility, and it will bring 16 battery-electric vehicles to market by 2022.
Ford Motor Company released its first quarter 2018 financial results. Ford delivered increased revenue, up 7 percent year over year, and net income of $1.7 billion, up 9 percent year over year, more than explained by a lower tax rate. Company adjusted EBIT of $2.2 billion was down from a year ago, due to commodity cost increases and adverse exchange.
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
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