Transformation to Mobility Company? Ford Returns to Detroit.

Posted on 25 May 2018 by Ken Zino
AutoInformed.com on Mobility Companies

The original mass-market mobility company is trying at great risk to become a 21st century one.

It’s been an on again, off again geographic affair, but Ford now officially says it has returned to Detroit with its global electric vehicle organization, Ford Team Edison. The autonomous vehicle business team is also housed in a refurbished former factory located in Detroit’s historic Corktown district.

Planned to begin production in 2021, Ford’s first autonomous vehicles will be designed to move people or goods.

Back to the Future.

As part of an $11.1 billion investment in global electric vehicles announced earlier this year, Ford says it will sell electrified vehicles that “offer exciting experiences and enhanced capabilities based on what people need and want – including the all-new Mustang-inspired battery-electric SUV in 2020.”

In the next few years, Ford plans to offer hybrid options on high-volume nameplates such as Mustang, F-150, Explorer, Escape and Bronco, in addition to hybrid options for every new Ford SUV introduced. The work done in Corktown will also help accelerate the development of Ford’s battery-electric vehicle program. A total of 40 electrified vehicles will be available globally from Ford by 2022, including 16 full battery-electric vehicles.

Heralding the alleged demise of the suburbs the Model T assembly-line company helped create, Ford workers will have “the opportunity to immerse themselves in the lifestyle and mobility challenges of an urban environment. This daily immersion allows them to identify problems and generate solutions that will inform the development of the company’s self-driving and electric vehicles.”

Sign, Groan

Long time industry observers will likely sigh at this press release claim: “Much more than just a relocation, the move is a purpose-driven strategic decision, offering a new work environment and customizable workspace that will enable the acceleration of Ford’s push into electrification and strengthen its development of self-driving vehicles.”

This off used industry cliché is met with skepticism at AutoInformed, having heard it more than once with variations from General Motors and Chrysler and their divisions and subsidiaries. A change in location, doesn’t necessarily mean a change in management philosophy or increase the ability to compete – in this case against the amorphous but wildly pursued quest for transformation into a mobility company.

Industry analysts are in effect noting that the Golden Fleece that Jason and the Argonauts were pursuing was a myth, but here a real fleecing of stockholders is a possible result of this quest.

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About Ken Zino

Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
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