"Ford's move to give its electric-vehicle business its own identity is about engineering of a cultural rather than financial kind, but that might change.
The car maker said Wednesday that it would create a new division, Ford Model e, to house the small and unprofitable, but fast-growing, EV business responsible for the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning. The unit will have its own profit-and-loss account from next year, sitting alongside two other new segments: the conventional consumer-vehicle division, renamed Ford Blue, and Ford Pro for fleet customers.
The step follows months of speculation that Ford might spin off its EV business to capitalize on investor appetite for pure-play names like Tesla, Rivian and Lucid. Ford Chief Executive Jim Farley said on a call with media that his team had looked at spin options before concluding that Ford could fund its EV push without outside help and would benefit from synergies between the old and new technologies.
That won't end the debate: As long as Tesla's market value remains at multiples of Ford's, any signs of EV success at the Detroit manufacturer will be accompanied by questions about the unit's potential independence. Chief Financial Officer John Lawler told analysts a full auditable split of assets and capital, rather than the lighter split into business segments Ford is pursuing, wasn't the plan "at this point" -- implying that at some point it might be. The shares rose more than 8%.
Every big car maker with assets that might be valued more highly if they were independent faces questions about spinoffs as they funnel billions of dollars into technologies with uncertain payoffs. The trend started with General Motors selling SoftBank a minority stake in its Cruise driverless-car business in 2018. Now Volkswagen is working on a minority initial public offering of Porsche.
Ford is the only one trying to create a separate business specifically for its EVs. That hints at the complexity of an operation that is in part about reducing complexity. EVs share a lot with conventional cars, including assembly and distribution.
Confusingly, Ford's split seems to involve plants that produce EVs sitting within Ford Blue, while reporting to Ford Model e through a matrix structure. As the company builds out dedicated EV assembly plants, those will sit within Model e.
Mr. Farley wants to create a freewheeling startup at Model e capable of taking on Tesla and other pure-play companies. With Blue, Ford wants a cash machine to fund the growth business built on simplicity and lean manufacturing.
For now, the value of this split is in the radical clarity it brings to Ford's transition to EVs. Nowhere will the effort to make the new car technology cost-competitive with the old one be more visible and measurable in the coming years.
If Model e flourishes as hoped, though, pressure inevitably will build on Mr. Farley to raise funds through it. This isn't just about competing with Tesla for capital: Hiring tech talent would be easier if Model e had its own stock.
For what is on the surface just a company reorganization, this could be the start of a life-changing journey for Ford." [1]
1. Ford Tries To Create An Inner Tesla
Wilmot, Stephen. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 03 Mar 2022: B.12.
Komentarų nėra:
Rašyti komentarą