“We’re going through the biggest transformation of any OEM. Perhaps even the biggest transformation of any company in any industry.”
It would be fair to say that Peter Zillig, Ford of Europe’s marketing boss, isn’t trying to play down the challenges facing Ford in Europe, nor the scale of the transformation it is trying to make in response. That transformation has it going all-in on electric cars, and Ford has restructured the entire company as a result.
At the start of the year, Ford split its company into three distinct divisions: Model E, Blue and Pro. The first would develop EVs, the second ICE cars and the third commercial vehicles. The names are part of internal structure rather than anything customer-facing, so a customer would simply buy a Ford, whichever division it came from.
In Europe, Ford has long struggled for profitability. It’s well known and often repeated that it makes money only on commercial vehicles and SUVs, and its traditional models barely register on the bottom line. It has used electric cars as a chance to make a decisive shift, taking bold and perhaps unpopular decisions in dropping so many popular (but ultimately not profitable) models like the Fiesta and Focus.
“I’m absolutely, totally committed to changing the business,” said Ford of Europe boss Martin Sander, who joined Ford at the start of 2022 after a 25-year career at the Volkswagen Group to lead this change.
Ford felt the need to split its business into three because the requirements of creating the different types of vehicles wearing the Ford badge are so different.
“For example, with commercial vehicles, there are very different requirements, so you need people 100% dedicated to them,” said Sander. “The same with Model E: you need people 100% dedicated to EVs and connected services and not distracted by anything.
“From next year, the divisions will post different financial results. You will see the money. It puts us under pressure, but we know what to do to be profitable in this business, and will do everything it takes to do so.”