Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) has also made always made it clear that it intends to place its bet on two major avenues: heavy investment in forward-looking mobility solutions like smart cities and connected cars and profitable line of trucks and SUVs.
However, the company had not made this official until recently when it announced that it would be doing away with the traditional hatchbacks and sedans for the North American market.
Jim Hackett, the CEO of Ford said during the company’s quarterly earnings call said the company will be focusing on the SUV-like Active trim and the Mustang in North America. This, according to the company, will be undertaken in the near future after completing the current product cycle.
The company’s new initiative will effectively do away with the Fiesta and Fusion ranges and the new Focus is expected on the market in 2019n and chances are that it will be sourced from a factory in China. Additionally, the current Focus sedans and the Taurus are expected to expire sometime this year.
However, Ford needs to keep an eye on is fuel averages. The CEO indicated that the 2020 Bronco SUV, which will have similar components like the 2019 Ranger pickup, will have a hybrid version. After its launch, the Bronco will compete with the likes of Toyota 4Runner and Jeep Wrangler. Jeep built the 2018 Wrangler with a 48-volt mild hybrid system. It is however not clear if the Bronco will be built with the same system or will have a plug-in hybrid format. Hybrid versions of Mustang, Explorer, Escape, and F-150 have been announced in the past.
With Ford moving away from the loss-making sedan business, the company will be in a better position to try investing in new technologies. It has already made a lot of investment in its mobility services since the start of this year. Additionally, it has fully invested in the “smart city” concept.
In the first quarter financial result, the company reported $1.7 billion in net income, which represents a 9% increase from what it reported last year. The mobility section however reported $102 million in losses for during the quarter. The loss was attributed to a one-time $58 million investment.
