Ford Motor Company chief electrification officer Doug Field shared his thoughts on potential drawbacks electric vehicles could face today, as per Teslarati.
According to Field, some constraints are inadequate charging networks and the battery raw materials’ limited availability.
“Infrastructure is the biggest thing that really has to be nailed for widespread adoption. A lot of coordination is going to be required to get the right levels of compatibility, capability, reliability in that charging network, so people just don’t have to worry about it,” said Field at an EV conference in London.
Considering these potential restrictions, Field said a good way to go over these challenges would be the adoption of a vertically-integrated strategy.
Currently, Field serves as Ford’s Model e division’s chief advanced product development and technology. Previously, he was an executive at another EV automaker, Tesla, a company recognized for its serious efforts at vertical integration.
According to a Reuters report, Field stated, “The companies that go very, very far upstream, capture the materials years ahead of time, lock them up and build a clear strategy around the battery supply chain will win.
“This type of change is going to push companies to vertically integrate in ways that they haven’t been used to in many, many decades,”
Furthermore, Field teased a vision for Ford’s future vehicles. Some would be able to do “things your phone can’t do.” which includes an immersive augmented reality experience while the vehicle operates.
According to the executive, the American automaker is also working on actively developing hands-free driving or “conditional autonomy,” and a more sophisticated user interface.
Together with the company’s other innovations, these would give Ford users an “experience that will blow people away and make them feel like they’re in a science fiction movie.”
Ford’s electric vehicle momentum in October
According to the news release by the company, Ford’s October EV momentum continued, with EV lineup sales up 120% over last year. It is about two times the growth rate of the overall electric vehicle segment.
- America’s best-selling car, E-Transit, climbed 71.5% compared to September on sales of 770 vans.
- F-150 Lightning continues as America’s best-selling electric truck with 2,436 sales (which is its best monthly sales performance since its introduction this year.)
- Mustang Mach-E sales grew 7.3% over last year on 3,055 sales.
Despite its tight inventories because of limited production, the company’s October share of the EV segment is up 2.2% over last year with an 8.9% share.
Furthermore, Ford spots #2 in EV sales and the automaker’s electric truck sales (totalling 3,206) are up 35.4% over September. The company’s EV portfolio has been aiming at over 60% this year.
Ford’s vision statement
Ford’s vision statement is “to become the world’s most trusted company,” It means to take on:
- encouraging employee volunteering
- enriching community life
- promoting safe driving
- supporting education
