Ford presentation found seriously lacking in detail
FORD MOTOR’S new chief hit all the industry buzzwords in his inaugural investor address – electrification, connectivity, autonomy – but a dearth of details left Wall Street underwhelmed.
Chief executive Jim Hackett this week pledged accelerated work on green and driverless vehicles, more partnerships and acquisitions, a focus on the trucks and SUVs buyers want, and improved operational “fitness”.
The plan included a few tangibles – $14 billion (R191bn) in cost cuts and a $7bn shift in spending away from passenger cars – but not enough specifics for investors to grasp how, exactly, the century-old carmaker plans to navigate the new mobility landscape.
“While expectations were low, we were underwhelmed by the lack of detail,” George Galliers, an analyst at Evercore ISI, said in a note to clients yesterday.
Ford’s presentation “was generally lacking in the detail auto investors crave, with more McKinsey-like thought slides than those with actual numbers.”
Hackett, who just completed a months-long review of the carmaker he took over in May, has a tough task convincing wary investors Ford can compete against the electric, connected and semi-autonomous vehicles its competitors have already started rolling out.
The carmaker will debut its first long-range electric model in 2020 and still appears to be playing catch up, analysts said after the event.
“While we don’t take issue with the principles themselves, they don’t seem to differ from what we know every other OEM globally is looking to pursue,” Galliers said. “What differentiates them is the lack of details and numbers.”
Ford shares opened lower yesterday following the investor briefing before rising as much as 1 percent. The stock was up 0.7 percent to $12.43 at 11.53am in New York – Bloomberg