Ford has big bucks to make it happen

It was in October that newly-installed CEO, Jim Hackett, outlined his broad direction for Ford Motor Co. And along with those plans, there was the promise of significant fundings to make things happen.

“Key to this approach is that we are allocating capital to where Ford can win in the future,” said Steven Armstrong, who oversees the Europe, Middle East and Africa operations. It “starts with the company reallocating $7 billion (Dh25.71 billion) of capital from cars to SUVs and trucks, including the introduction of Ranger and EcoSport in North America. In the US, we added $900 million of investment to upgrade the Kentucky Truck Plant to build the new-generation Expedition and the all-new Lincoln Navigator, which we will launch in the Middle East at the Dubai International Motor Show.

“And in MEA, we announced this month we are investing an additional $220 million to expand our manufacturing facilities in South Africa where we produce Ranger.”

That’s as far as its traditional operations are concerned. “For electric vehicles, we are investing $4.5 billion over five years on 13 new electrified models through 2020. We’ve taken additional actions to fund that growth by reducing the internal combustion engine powertrain architectures and related capital spending.

“We’re also expanding our electric vehicle plans for the next decade and targeting additional efficiencies — in both capital spending and product engineering.

“Ford will prepare for industry disruption by becoming fitter as a business.”