Ford CEO's Idea Could Change The Company Forever

Feb. 20, 2022 11:19 AM ET byJay Traugott Electric Vehicles /7 Comments

The stock market immediately responded.

Ford has been at the top of its game lately thanks heavily to theleadership of CEO Jim Farley. While a bulk of the groundwork for the automaker's new EV and off-road vehicle lineup was laid by Farley's predecessor, Jim Hackett, Farley has seen the plan through to production. New models like theBroncoandF-150 Lightningare inhot demand with no signs of letup. The Blue Oval is clearly in a solid position right and for the foreseeable future. And then this mini bombshell dropped this past Friday.

PerBloomberg, Farley is reportedly considering the option of spinning off the electric vehicle business from traditional internal combustion engine operations or, perhaps, the other way around. In any case, the stock market reacted nearly immediately. Ford shares increased by a little over 5 percent during trading Friday. They were up by nearly 3 percent by the closing bell.

Ford

Ford quickly responded to the report stating it had no plans to spinoff either business. That's just the official statement. Unofficially, the report claims Farley thinks by spinning off at least a portion of the EV business as part of a greater reorganization effort could help gain value that appeals to investors who sometimes prefer to focus on EV startups. No other Detroit-based automaker, specifically GM, has plans to do the same despite some pressure from Wall Street.

Farley clarified that "We are focused on our Ford+ plan to transform the company and thrive in this new era of electric and connected vehicles. We have no plans to spin off our battery electric-vehicle business or our traditional ICE business."

2021-2022 Ford Mustang Mach-E Forward Vision

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2021-2022 Ford Mustang Mach-E Rearward Vision

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年代till, the fact that the stock market reacted very favorably to the report could potentially help persuade Farley to reconsider the idea. A complete spinoff for either division may not be necessary but rather just part of one. The battery R&D division, for example, could become its own separate entity. Doing so could potentially place it in a stronger position to pursue new technologies such as solid-state batteries in a more timely and efficient manner.

But until Farley officially goes on record stating a spinoff of any sort is being considered, nothing on the ground is going to change. Still, we can't imagine a scene involving Dearborn management not raising a few eyebrows following Friday's market reaction.