Ex-Tesla and Ford Advanced EV development boss, Alan Clarke leading Ford Skunkworks project to develop low-cost EV.
During the company’s fourth-quarter results call on Tuesday, Ford CEO Jim Farley mentioned in passing that a skunkworks team had been set up to develop a “low-cost” EV platform. Since then, it has been verified that Clarke is in charge of the roughly two-year-old, Irvine, California-based skunkworks project.
It comprises engineers from the electric vehicle power startup Auto Motive Power, or AMP, which the automaker purchased in November 2023. The Skunkworks project also includes AMP creator Anil Paryani, who ironically worked at Tesla for around five years alongside Clarke.
The third-generation EV is being developed by the Skunkworks project. A Ford representative declined to offer further information on the project’s scope or schedule. However, it seems likely that the Skunkworks initiative is focused on cost, smaller EVs, and efficiency, including the battery, based on Farley’s remarks from Tuesday and from a year ago.
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During the company’s results call, Farley stated, “We’re also adjusting our capital, switching, and more focused onto smaller EV products.” This is significant because, two years ago, we placed a wager in silence to build an extremely skilled skunkworks team and produce an affordable electric vehicle platform. Some of the top EV engineers in the world worked in a small team that was isolated from the Ford headquarters. It was a startup, and they created an adaptable platform that will not only be deployed to many car models but also have a sizable install base for the services and software that we are currently using at Pro (the business division).
Ford has trimmed back some of its electric vehicle (EV) investment plans in recent months, delaying $12 billion in expenditures as it responds to waning demand for key battery-electric car categories and rising interest in hybrids. However, the carmaker continues to invest in upcoming models. The T3 electric truck and three-row SUV that will go into production in 2025 will be built on the second-generation EV platform that Farley unveiled in May of last year.
Farley stated, “All of our EVs teams are ruthlessly focused on cost and efficiency in our EV products because the ultimate competition is going to be the affordable Tesla and the Chinese OEMs,”
Ford divided its business into three separate divisions in 2022: its commercial division Ford Pro, its conventional internal Ford Blue, and Ford Model E, which concentrate on connectivity and electric vehicles, are businesses that sell combustion engine and hybrid cars.
The company’s expansion at Ford Pro and the sales of gas-powered and hybrid automobiles have contributed to its earnings. Ford’s EV division continues to hurt the company’s profits.
Ford said on Tuesday that its fourth-quarter revenue for 2023 came in at $46 billion, up 4.5% from the same period the previous year. With $26.2 billion in revenue, Ford Blue accounted for the largest portion of the total, followed by Ford Pro with $15.4 billion. The company’s electric vehicle division, Ford E, brought in $1.6 billion, while Ford Credit made $2.7 billion.
In comparison to its earnings of $1.3 billion, or 32 cents per share, during the same period last year, Ford lost $526 million, or 13 cents per share, in the fourth quarter. Special expenses associated with its employee pension plans and a restructuring of its international operations were the main causes of the loss.
The business made $10.4 billion for the year and $1.05 billion in the fourth quarter on an adjusted basis.
After hours trading saw a 6.3% increase in shares as the firm announced that it expects to make between $10 billion and $12 billion in adjusted pre-tax earnings, a more optimistic view than anticipated.
