DEARBORN, Michigan, September 1, 2021 – Ford (NYSE: F) Ranger fans, the Splash is back. The much-loved special appearance package from the 1990’s is making a comeback, reimagined for today and starting with the 2022 Ford Ranger Splash Package.
Splash will come in two styles, the Splash Package and Splash Limited Edition. The Splash Package will be available all model year and comes with body-side orange and black graphics and special 18-inch 12-spoke wheels finished in matte black. Ranger Splash includes orange grille nostrils, plus gloss black accents on the grille, bumpers, rearview mirror caps, wheel lip moldings and fender vents. The interior features exclusive seats with orange contrast stitching and unique carbon grain with tuxedo stripes – leather-trimmed in Lariat. Orange contrast stitching also appears on the steering wheel, gear shifter and parking brake boot. Lariat models get orange accent stitching on front and rear armrests and on the dash top.
The Splash Package can be combined with the FX2 or FX4 Package to add more off-road capability to its distinctive looks.
Ford will also bring a fresh dash of color by revealing Splash Limited Edition trucks every few months in a series of one-time-only hues with just a few hundred vehicles available. It also features 18-inch matte black wheels and a unique combination of exterior and interior content and finishes. The Splash – Snow Edition kicks off the first batch.
Ranger Splash Package will be available for SuperCrew models optioned in XLT and Lariat trim series, priced at $1,495 with deliveries starting at the end of the year. Ranger is proudly built at Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan.
– New Documentary Celebrates Workforce Response to Covid-19
https://youtu.be/lYHgV2u1T2Y
DEARBORN, Michigan, Sept. 4, 2020 – Following completion of its 50,000th ventilator to help clinicians treat COVID-19 patients, Ford is pivoting to target production of 100 million masks through 2021 for communities across the U.S. with limited access to personal protective equipment. The company, currently manufacturing 2.5 million medical-grade masks a week for its employees and at-risk communities, is growing the number of mask-making machines by mid- to late-October to increase production and deliver on its goal.
Ford is working with Ford Motor Company Fund, the company’s philanthropic arm, to identify donation recipients across the U.S. through a network of nonprofit and state and local partners. The company is focusing on military veterans, schools, food banks and African American communities, among others.
This announcement comes ahead of a new short documentary by award-winning director Peter Berg (“Friday Night Lights,” “Patriots Day,” “Lone Survivor”) titled “On the Line.” Premiering on YouTube at 2 p.m. EDT today, the documentary focuses on Ford’s Project Apollo, the internal codename for the company’s all-out effort to design and manufacture personal protective equipment, including powered air-purifying respirators, face shields, medical gowns for healthcare workers and first responders, plus ventilators for COVID-19 patients.
Berg’s deep dive into the story features members of Ford’s Project Apollo team – from the engineers who led the project to the UAW team members who volunteered to work at the height of the pandemic.
Last week, Ford Motor Company Fund shipped 10 million face masks to the National Urban League, American Red Cross, Disabled American Veterans and other local organizations to protect against COVID-19.
Ford, in partnership with the UAW, has produced more than 72 million pieces of personal protective equipment to meet the enormous demand. Altogether, this amounts to:
– More than 45 million face masks and 20 million face shields
– 50,000 patient ventilators
– More than 32,000 powered air-purifying respirators in collaboration with 3M
2021 Ford GT Heritage Edition inspired by the GT40 MK II’s 1966 Daytona 24 Hour Continental race victory!
– Ford Performance unveils new Ford GT Heritage Edition inspired by the 1966 Daytona 24 Hour Continental, a stylish Frozen White with exposed carbon fiber and Race Red livery that pays homage to the 55th anniversary of the epic race where Ford achieved its first 24-hour endurance win
– Exclusive Ford GT Studio Collection offers even more exclusivity with unique and widely customizable design features in a limited-availability package for only 40 Ford GT supercars slated for production across the 2021 and 2022 model years
– New 2021 Ford GT Heritage Edition and Studio Collection are the pinnacle of Petersen Car Week, which started airing Wednesday on the Petersen Museum’s YouTube channel, which includes highlights include several virtual events featuring 25 hours of original content from manufacturers and enthusiasts, plus automotive lifestyle and auction house activities
The Ford GT is America’s only Le Mans-winning supercar, and taking this pinnacle of Ford Performance even further for 2021, Ford is revealing two new enhancements today – the first-ever Heritage Edition inspired by the original model’s first endurance win at the 1966 Daytona 24 Hour Continental race, plus an all-new Studio Collection package offers even more exclusivity and design enhancements.
“For this Heritage Edition, the Ford Performance team went deeper into the Ford GT’s race history and crafted a limited-edition model that stylistically honors the 55th anniversary of the Daytona 24 Hour endurance race that would eventually lead to our successes at Le Mans,” said Mike Severson, Ford GT program manager. “Plus, for customers who want to highlight the carbon-fiber body and functional cooling ducts that help deliver Le Mans-winning performance, the Ford GT Studio Collection offers another new way GT fans can personalize their supercars.”
The announcement of two new variants of the Ford GT were the highlights at the conclusion of 2020 Petersen Car Week, which started airing Wednesday on the museum’s YouTube channel. The virtual event featured 25 hours of original content from manufacturers and enthusiasts, along with automotive lifestyle and auction house activities.
A Tesla logo on a Model S is photographed inside of a Tesla dealership in New York
Tesla Inc <TSLA> has cut prices of its electric vehicles by as much as 6% in North America following a decline in auto demand in the region during weeks of lockdown that have now started to ease.
Tesla also said its Supercharger quick-charging service will no longer be free to new customers of its Model S sedans and Model X sport utility vehicles (SUV’s).
Auto retail sales in the United States likely halved in April from a year earlier, showed data from J.D. Power. However, sales in May are likely to improve due to pent-up demand and incentives offered by most carmakers, the analytics firm said.
Automakers including General Motors Co <GM>, Ford Motor Co <F> and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV <FCAU>, are offering 0% financing rates and deferred payment options for new purchases.
Factories in the United States started to reopen earlier this month with suppliers gearing up to support an auto industry employing nearly 1 million people.
Tesla was briefly forced to stop work at its Fremont, California, factory due to stay-at-home orders. It resumed production after resolving a dispute over safety measures with local authorities.
On Wednesday, Tesla website’s showed the starting price for its Model S sedan is now $74,990, down from $79,990.
Its Model X SUVs are now priced at $79,990, from $84,990, and the lowest-priced Model 3 sedan is $2,000 cheaper at $37,990.
Tesla said it will also cut prices in China – as per usual after price adjustments in the United States – by around 4% for the Model X and Model S.
Tesla China, which is delivering Model 3 sedans from its Shanghai factory, in a Weibo post said it has also cut prices for the Model S and Model X cars it imports, but will keep prices of locally made Model 3 cars unchanged.
(Reporting by Yilei Sun and Brenda Goh; Editing by Tom Hogue and Christopher Cushing)
DETROIT (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co is putting more chips on a bet that it can profit from selling electric vans to delivery businesses that need to reduce carbon emissions.
Ford will roll out an all-electric version of its Transit van for North America in model year 2022, mirroring the timetable for launching a similar model for the European market, the company said on Tuesday in conjunction with the NTEA Work Truck Show in Indianapolis.
“Our electric bet as a company is different than our competitors,” Ford Chief Operating Officer Jim Farley said in an interview. “The most critical bet we will be making over the next several years will be our commercial vehicles.”
Two of three electric vehicles Ford has announced as part of an $11.5 billion investment in electrification through 2022 are aimed at commercial customers – the Transit and an electric version of the company’s best-selling model, the F-150 pickup.
Ford’s Mustang Mach-E electric SUV represents a low-volume challenge to electric luxury vehicle market leader Tesla Inc.
The electric Transit and F-150 will play in market segments Ford dominates in the United States and Europe.
“Half of the vehicles doing work in the U.S. are Ford Motor Co vehicles,” Farley said. Ford is also the No. 1 commercial vehicle brand in Europe, and has led the commercial van market in Britain, which is Europe’s largest, for 55 years.
Regulators in Europe and in some U.S. cities are stepping up pressure on businesses to replace diesel or gasoline-fueled delivery vans with electric models to reduce pollution in city centers.
In the United States, Amazon.com Inc, has ordered 100,000 electric delivery vans from start-up Rivian, the first of which will be delivered in 2021 and built in Normal, Illinois. Ford has a separate partnership with Rivian.
The electric Transit will not be related to the Rivian van, said Ted Cannis, Ford’s director of electrification.
The new Transit will be an early test of the company’s efforts to deploy new connectivity technology and services to go with it, Farley said.
Ford said the electric Transit will be built in America and cost more than the gasoline-powered version, which starts at $34,500. Research firm Auto Forecast Solutions said it will be built in Kansas City, Missouri, along with the gasoline version.
Supplier sources who asked not to be identified said Ford will launch production in late 2021, with plans to build around 2,000 that year and increase to 14,000 annually by 2023.
(Reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit; Additional reporting by Paul Lienert; Editing by Richard Chang)
WASHINGTON, Feb 10 (Reuters) – The White House budget released on Monday proposed cutting funding for passenger rail carrier Amtrak, while calling for a significant boost in infrastructure spending.
The proposal would cut Amtrak funds by more than 50% over 2020 levels. It could cut funds to the congested northeast corridor from $700 million to $325 million and cut long-distance train funds from $1.3 billion to $611 million and then phase out support for long-distance trains.
Trump has proposed similar cuts in prior budgets and been rejected, and Democrats are not likely to go along. Trump has sparred with Democratic lawmakers over a $13 billion infrastructure project to build and repair tunnels and bridges in the New York City area known as “Gateway.”
In November, Amtrak said for the year ended Sept. 30, it had set records for ridership, revenue, and financial performance, including 32.5 million customer trips, a year-over-year increase of 800,000 passengers.
Amtrak reported a loss of $29.8 million in the year through September 2019 compared with a loss of $170.6 million in the prior fiscal year.
The Trump budget calls for $810 billion in highway, transit, safety and other surface transportation funds and then an additional $190 billion for a wide range of programs including $25 billion for rural water, broadband and other projects. It does not specify how to pay for the repairs or for funding an estimated $107 billion shortfall in the highway trust fund through 2026.
The budget again also calls for eliminating an Energy Department clean vehicle loan program that boosted Tesla Inc , Nissan Motor Co and Ford Motor Co during the last industry downturn, but has not funded a new project in almost a decade.
Start-up Lordstown Motors Chief Executive Steve Burns told Reuters last month the company wanted to apply for a $200 million loan from the Energy Department program to retool a former General Motors factory in Lordstown, Ohio. Burns met with Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette for an hour to discuss the proposal last month. Lordstown is partially owned by start-up Workhorse Group Inc.
The budget also again proposes killing the $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit that phases out for automakers after 200,000 EVs are sold. The White House blocked an effort in December by congressional Democrats to expand the credit to additional vehicles.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
Acela at B&P Tunnel
Acela, Amtrak, B&P Tunnel, Baltimore, NEC, maryland
An Acela train emerges from the B&P Tunnel in Baltimore.
DEARBORN, Mich. (Reuters) – Investors sent Ford Motor Co shares skidding on Tuesday after the company delivered a weaker-than-expected 2020 forecast, warning of higher warranty costs, lower profits at its credit arm and continued investments in future technology such as self-driving cars.
Shares in the No. 2 U.S. automaker plunged 9.4% in after-hours trading, shaving more than $3 billion off the company’s value. In comparison, electric carmaker Tesla closed up nearly 14%, pushing its market cap to $160 billion, more than four times the size of Ford’s $36.4 billion.
“The results were not OK in 2019,” Ford Chief Financial Officer Tim Stone told reporters at the company’s headquarters outside Detroit.
“As I look to 2020 and beyond, I’m very optimistic,” he said, while cautioning that Ford’s lower guidance does not yet account for the potential impact of the coronavirus outbreak in China.
In an after-hours call with financial analysts, Chief Executive Jim Hackett was more blunt about the challenge of balancing Ford’s protracted turnaround efforts with its continuing work on future technology, including electric and self-driving cars.
“I don’t think this company can keep straddling the old and new worlds forever … This company has to change,” Hackett said.
Ford said it expects 2020 operating earnings to be in the range of 94 cents to $1.20 a share. Analysts were expecting $1.26 a share.
Stone said Ford expects to continue its quarterly dividend of 15 cents, which could cost the company $2.4 billion in 2020. Asked about continuing the dividend after lowering its 2020 guidance, Hackett said, “We like to return value to shareholders.”
The disappointing 2020 forecast, coming after Ford previously trimmed its 2019 outlook, is a blow for Hackett, who took the helm in May 2017.
He has been asking investors to be patient with a restructuring that has seen the formation of a wide-ranging alliance on commercial, electric and autonomous vehicles with Volkswagen AG <VOWG_p.DE> and the sale of its money-losing operations in India to a venture controlled by India’s Mahindra & Mahindra.
But by Ford’s own accounting, the restructuring is far from complete. It has booked $3.7 billion of the projected $11 billion in charges it previously said it would take, and expects to book another $900 million to $1.4 billion this year.
For the fourth quarter of 2019, Ford reported a net loss of $1.7 billion, or 42 cents a share, compared with a loss of $100 million, or 3 cents a share, a year earlier.
The quarter included a loss of $2.2 billion due to higher contributions to its employee pension plans, something it disclosed last month.
Revenue in the quarter fell 5% to $39.7 billion, above the $36.5 billion Wall Street had expected.
Ford’s adjusted free cash flow fell 67% in the fourth quarter to $500 million, including the $600 million cost of bonuses related to a new labor deal with the United Auto Workers union. The UAW deal also played a role in driving North American automotive profit margins down to 2.8% in the fourth quarter.
Ford said its operating losses in China last year totaled $771 million, including a loss of $207 million in the fourth quarter. It lost $1.5 billion in 2018. Ford’s market share in China in the fourth quarter fell to 2% from 2.3% last year.
In December, Ford said it would halve its operating loss in 2019 and nearly halve it again in 2020, followed by further improvement in 2021.
However, that forecast was before the appearance of the fast-spreading coronavirus and its crippling effects on China’s economy.
Ford’s China sales fell about 15% in the fourth quarter and 26% for the year as it continued to lose ground in its second-biggest market. Ford has been struggling to revive sales in China since its business began slumping in late 2017.
Detroit rivals General Motors Co and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles are scheduled to report their results on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.
(Reporting by Ben Klayman and Paul Lienert; Editing by Tom Brown)
FILE PHOTO: A sign welcomes visitors to the General Motors Lordstown Complex assembly plant in Warren, Ohio
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Electric pickup truck start-up Lordstown Motors is pursuing a $200 million loan from a U.S. Energy Department program to retool a former General Motors <GM> factory in northeast Ohio, Chief Executive Steve Burns told Reuters.
Burns met with Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette on Monday for about an hour and the company was holding additional talks with officials on Tuesday from the Energy Department’s Loan Program Office.
“We think we are worthy of government help. We don’t want a handout – we want a loan,” Burns told Reuters in an interview. “It’s just going to be more jobs faster if we get it. We are viable without it.”
Burns disclosed the company plans to unveil a drivable version of its electric truck at the Detroit auto show in June. It hopes to begin production by year-end.
The Energy Department declined comment.
Burns said the company hopes to receive funding from the Energy Department’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program that in 2009 awarded loans to Ford Motor Co <F>, Tesla Inc <TSLA> and Nissan Motor Co <NSANY> to retool factories, but has not issued loans since 2011. Nissan and Tesla previously repaid their loans.
The fate of the sprawling plant became a political lightning rod after GM announced its planned closure in November 2018, drawing condemnation from U.S. President Donald Trump and many U.S. lawmakers.
A bipartisan group of Ohio lawmakers wrote Brouillette last week offering “strong support” for the loan, saying northeast Ohio was dealt a “severe blow” by the plant closing.
Lordstown Motors Corp, which is 10% owned by Workhorse Group Inc <WKHS>, bought the plant and equipment for $20 million as part of its ambitious plan to begin building electric pickup trucks by the end of 2020.
“It’s cool to bring something back to life,” Burns said.
The company is working to raise additional funding and is in advanced talks with a large strategic investor, Burns said.
GM last year agreed to loan Lordstown Motors $40 million to acquire and retool the plant. Burns hopes to repay GM’s loan “in a few weeks.”
Burns plans to start crash-testing vehicles in July, hiring about 400 hourly workers in September and to begin production in November or December.
Electric vehicle startup Rivian, backed by Amazon.com Inc <AMZN> and Ford, plans to build an electric pickup truck and companion starting in late 2020. GM plans to build its first electric pickup truck starting in late 2021. Tesla plans to start building its electric Cybertruck in late 2021.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
FILE PHOTO: The corporate logo of Ford is seen at Brussels Motor Show
(Reuters) – Ford Motor Co <F> said on Wednesday its fourth quarter results will be hit by a pre-tax loss of about $2.2 billion (1.7 billion pounds) due to higher contributions to its employees pension plans.
The charge is largely related to a drop in discount rates, the company said, as that leads to an increase in the amount of money to be contributed for future pension benefits.
The U.S. automaker said it will record a $2 billion loss related to pension plans outside the United States and a $600 million loss associated with other post-retirement employee benefits plans globally.
However, the overall loss was offset by a $400 million gain associated with pension plans in the United States.
On an after-tax basis, the loss is expected to reduce Ford’s net income by about $1.7 billion in the fourth quarter. The loss will not impact the adjusted earnings per share as it is a special item, the company said.
(Reporting by Dominic Roshan K. L. in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co’s <F> China vehicle sales fell for a third consecutive year, by 26.1%, as it battles a prolonged overall sales decline in its second-biggest market that has hit demand for its mass-market Ford brand and sports utility vehicles.
The U.S. automaker delivered 146,473 vehicles in China in the fourth quarter, down 14.7% year-on-year, Ford said in a statement. In total, it sold 567,854 vehicles over 2019.
Ford has been trying to revive sales in China after its business began slumping in late 2017. Sales sank 37% in 2018, after a 6% decline in 2017.
Anning Chen, president and chief executive of Ford Greater China, said that while 2019 was a “challenging” year for the automaker, it saw its market share in the high-to-premium segment stabilize and its sales decline in the value segment start to narrow in the second-half of the year.
“The pressure from the external environment and downward trend of the industry volume will continue in 2020, and we will put more efforts into strengthening our product lineup with more customer-centric products and customer experiences to mitigate the external pressure and improve dealers’ profitability.”
The automaker plans to launch more than 30 new models in China over the next three years of which over a third will be electric vehicles. It has also said it would localize management teams by hiring more Chinese staff and aimed to improve relationships with joint venture partners.
New models it launched in the fourth quarter include a new Ford Escape version – for which the automaker said orders received so far have been much higher than expected – and the Lincoln Corsair, the first localized Lincoln model in China.
In China, Ford makes cars through a joint venture with Chongqing Changan Automobile Co Ltd and Jiangling Motors Corp Ltd (JMC). It has also said it would partner Zotye Automobile Co Ltd to sell lower priced cars.
Its larger U.S. rival General Motors Co <GM> last week said its sales in China fell 15% from a year earlier to 3.09 million vehicles in 2019, its second year of decline.
China’s auto market is set to contract by 2% in 2020 for the third year of decline, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) forecast, due to a weaker economy and trade dispute with the United States.
Over 28 million vehicles were sold in 2018, down 3% from the prior year, while 2019 sales are likely to have declined 8% from the prior year, CAAM said.
(Reporting by Brenda Goh and Yilei Sun; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Christopher Cushing)
A Ford model is seen during the China International Import Expo (CIIE), at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai
