Autocar UK – 14 August 2019

All rear-drive Fords will share a body-on-frame design

INTERVIEWS INSIDE FORD

14 AUGUST 2019 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 61

that embraces commercial vehicles.

■ A body-on-frame design for rear or all-wheel-

drive models, already used in the latest F150.

■ A unitary body specifically for battery-electric

vehicles, presumably embracing the Mustang-

inf luenced crossover for 2020. It’ll be a Ford design

rather than the VW MEB platform on which Ford

of Eu r op e h a s ju s t a g r e e d t o bu i ld 6 0 0, 0 0 0 c a r s

over six years from 2023. Curic says this platform

will give designers new freedom in space usage

because of its body proportions.

COST CUTTING AND CONNECTIVITY

Around 30% of a car’s build cost goes into its

architecture, explains Thai-Tang, while 40%

go e s i nt o t he ‘ t op h at ’. He a d m it s Ford h a sn’t

been as efficient with top hats as it could have

been, often designing powertrain, HVAC

systems, seating and infotainment systems on

a model-by-model basis, introducing needless

cost and complexity.

Thai-Tang says 80% of the projected

£21m will be saved by changes to product

development, purchasing and manufacturing.

S ome of t he mone y w i l l b e u s e d si mpl y t o m a k e

models more affordable against hot competition,

and more to slice about a fifth off the average

t i me it t a k e s t o de v e lop one. He s ay s Ford h a s

been guilty of “too many programme deferrals” in

the past: the new strategy will cut the average age

of models from 6.7 years at the beginning of this

y e a r t o 3. 3 y e a r s b y ne x t y e a r. “S e l l i n g c a r s i s l i k e

selling fish,” he jokes. “Fresher is better.”

Ford’s experts are convinced the forthcoming

new levels of connectivity will prove “the new

canvas” for car customers, not just in the safety

and convenience areas we know but with features

t h at w i l l p o sit i v e l y e xc it e bu y e r s – ‘ my c a r c a n

be a personal update for my devices’. It will

What is the true state of Ford?

SPEND A COUPLE of days with Ford’s bigwigs

in Dearborn, as we did, and you learn a lot very

quickly, especially if you take your new-found

knowledge to a further meeting in Dunton with

Ford’s European president.

Our picture of Ford has changed. Far from

being the beleaguered mainstream manufacturer

we feared, today’s company seems happy in its

skin, having taken a bold new course. In future,

we are assured, Ford will show a more creative

and customer-conscious attitude to the cars it

designs and builds. The old ‘it’s time for a new one’

culture is dead: Ford’s car-loving management is

fast-tracking a generation of iconic but practical

designs that appeal directly to buyers’ emotions,

a nd w he n t ho s e l au nc he d it w i l l do it a ga i n.

The aim is for Ford to become one of the most

capable and financially savvy exponents of

affordable automotive technology going, just in

time for the electrification age to begin in earnest.

This looks achievable, especially since great

b e ne f it w i l l f low f r om Ford’s i n s pi r e d c hoic e of

Volkswagen as a lead technical partner, without

any of the fraught corporate share-swapping

we’ve seen elsewhere.

In Dearborn and Dunton we saw evidence that

Ford’s long-held position as builder of best-selling

passenger cars and light commercials in the UK

will be closely guarded and sustained. Ford is no

longer the biggest-selling OEM here (the combined

V W Gr oup i s bi gge r), s o it w i l l h av e t o bat t le. But w e

now know it has excellent weapons for the fight. L

also improve business for commercial vehicle

customers. “Imagine if every van is connected

to Ford so its condition is always known and

breakdowns need never happen,” says Farley.

SELECTING A POWERTRAIN SOLUTION

Deciding which of the three main propulsion

options – internal combustion, hybrid and BEV –

will predominate in the years ahead is presenting

a challenge for Ford’s cleverest minds at present.

“We think we’ll need to offer each of the three

main solutions,” says Thai-Tang. “Luckily Ford

owns IP around them all. We built our first hybrid

30 years ago.” One key reason for keeping options

op e n , s ay s Ford , i s t h at gov e r n me nt p ol ic y i s a l a r ge

driver of electric car take-up, and legislation varies

all over the world.

And the progress of battery technology? “Well,

we’re on our sixth generation of battery,” he says.

“ W it h e a c h ge ne r at ion w e ’ v e s e e n a d r op of a b out

30% in the cost per kilowatt hour. The trouble is,

w e k e e p i nv e s t i n g i n k i low at t hou r s t o g i v e ou r c a r s

more performance and better range, which is the

right thing to do, but it means prices don’t fall very

fast. Batteries are definitely improving, but for the

ne x t de c a de I b e l ie v e w e ’ l l ne e d t o k e e p of fe r i n g a

portfolio of powertrains.”

Could the next Focus RS (^) be an EV? Ford isn’t saying
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