Except it’s not dead, said Kumar Galhotra, president of Ford Blue, Ford’s internal combustion vehicle division. Instead, he said, it is booming.
“For those who may be nursing, I spend a lot of time and investment in expanding [production] The capacity of all our Ford blue cars,” told CNN Business. “So, for me, Ford blue is a growth story. “
Basically, by gaining a foothold in the internal combustion engine arena, Ford is benefiting from customers who can’t get gas-powered vehicles from other automakers, even as Ford itself is rolling out new electric vehicle models.
]Ford just unveiled a new Mustang coupe, and it’s worth noting that it’s not electric or even hybrid.The new two-door Ford Mustang can All-gasoline power remains, Ford executives said, as the company hits its emissions targets with electric vehicles like the Mustang Mach-E SUV and plug-in hybrids like the Ford Escape PHEV. (Hybrids are also included in the Ford Blue division of the Galhotra.)
“In this particular segment, in the Mustang, even though that segment may shrink, there is a lot of speculation that our competitors may leave this segment,” he said. “So we can grow even though the segments of the industry are shrinking.”
Unlike GM, which has publicly stated that it plans to sell only zero-emission vehicles by 2035, Ford has not set an end date for building and selling gasoline-powered vehicles. While Ford has had some success with electric vehicles like the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning, they are sold alongside gasoline-powered models in the same segment. Ford also sells hybrid and plug-in hybrid models, while GM has said it will move directly to electric vehicles.
Galhotra said Ford is focusing its gasoline vehicles on three main areas, covering all the models Ford sells. These are enthusiast vehicles like the Mustang and Mustang off-road SUVs, general-purpose SUVs like the Ford Escape and Explorer, and of course trucks like the F-Series and Maverick. Within those areas, Ford is still finding new niches to explore, like the Bronco and Maverick, a small truck that works like a car, he said. Both are recent models that Ford has not competed with before and are doing well.
“We can’t make enough calves,” Galhotra said. “We’re completely sold out.”
To keep sales growing, Galhotra said Ford can continue to expand and extend its various model lines. The Bronco is already a line of vehicles, including the full-size Bronco SUV and the smaller Bronco Sport. Each comes with various special editions such as Heritage models. Ford has used a similar strategy successfully on the Mustang, creating a seemingly endless variety of variants, from the $27,000 4-cylinder Ecoboost Mustang to the $80,000 760-horsepower Shelby GT 500.
“I saw the potential for Maverick to one day be a family,” he said.
Obviously, at some point, gasoline-powered cars will be phased out, Galhotra allows.But it’s unclear when that will materialize, giving Ford a chance to gain sales from drivers as other automakers move to offering only electric vehicles It’s not ready to switch, Galhotra said.At the same time, Ford will of course also provide Choice of electric vehicles Who is ready, he said.