Ford only last May said it was raising its investments in electric vehicles to $30 billion through 2025, but the automaker could be planning to spend even more.
Bloomberg reported last Tuesday that Ford is planning to add up to $20 billion on further investments to restructure the company for the era of EVs and fend off the likes of Tesla and EV startups.
The effort is reportedly led by Doug Field, who returned to Ford last September after stints with Apple and Tesla. Field’s current role at Ford is chief of advanced technology and embedded systems.
According to the report, Ford is looking to spend between $10 billion and $20 billion on changes to its operations over the next 5-10 years, like upgrading plants and hiring staff to handle EV development and production. This would also include hiring experts in areas like battery chemistry and software development, particularly in the field of artificial intelligence.
Bloomberg also reported that Ford is considering a spin off of some of its EV business, which could prove attractive to investors that have fueled the share price of dedicated EV businesses to record highs, Tesla included.
Ford is experiencing higher than expected demand for its current EV offerings. The automaker has said it plans to build as many as 600,000 EVs per year as early as 2023. The bulk of this will be the Mustang Mach-E whose annual production is being raised to 200,000 units, followed by the F-150 Lightning whose annual production is being raised to 150,000 units.
Source: Motor Authority
