Ford Motor Co (NYSE: F) will announce the separation of its electric vehicle (EV) and internal-combustion engine (ICE) businesses on Wednesday, Reuters reported, citing three people familiar with the plan.
What Happened: The Dearborn, Michigan-headquartered automaker’s EV and gas-powered businesses will have separate names but remain under the Ford corporate umbrella, according to the report. Ford will also name the executives leading these units and provide new profit margin targets, Reuters reported.
“The idea is for Ford to eventually report separate financial results for the EV and ICE businesses,” the report noted, citing one of the sources.
Ford spokesman T.R. Reid told Benzinga that "Ford did not provide information for the Reuters story and doesn’t have any comment to offer on the report" but that CEO Jim Farley, CFO John Lawler, and other senior executives would elaborate on the execution of the Ford+ plan on Wednesday before the market opens.
The development comes days after Farley denied plans to spin-off either its EV or ICE businesses at an investor conference.
Why It Matters: Ford, under Farley, has been doubling down on EV production targets with ambitions to dominate the category in the coming years including beating current leader Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA).
Farley, 59, had in November said Ford aims to produce 600,000 EVs a year by the end of 2023, twice its original plan. In comparison, Tesla delivered nearly a million cars in 2021.
Ford's plan includes investing billions of dollars to electrify its most iconic models and launch a commercial self-driving business this year.
The company last year had said it would spend $30 billion by 2025 and expects 40% of its car sales by 2030 to be EVs. In September, it revealed plans to spend $11.4 billion to construct three battery plants and an assembly plant in Tennessee and Kentucky.
Price Action: Ford shares closed 4.9% lower at $16.7 a share on Tuesday.
Photo: Courtesy of Ford