Ford folds EV unit, Field exits as 8% EBIT target set
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- Ford announced it will fold its EV, digital, and design group into its global manufacturing operations under COO Kumar Galhotra, creating a new unit called Product Creation and Industrialization.
- Doug Field will leave Ford next month after nearly five years leading the company’s push into software‑defined EVs.
- Kumar Galhotra will head the combined unit, merging electric vehicle, digital, and design functions with the global industrial system.
- Alan Clarke was promoted to vice president of Advanced Development Projects, continuing to lead the California team that engineered the Universal EV Platform.
- Ford set a target of an 8% adjusted EBIT margin by 2029, up from a current gross margin of about 5.8%, and pledged to refresh 80% of its North American lineup and 70% of its global lineup by 2029.
- Ford retained the Universal EV Platform and a $30,000 midsize electric pickup built in Louisville, claiming 15% better aerodynamics, LFP batteries, and 40% faster assembly than existing platforms.
Why it matters: By subsuming its EV, digital and design teams under the manufacturing COO, Ford signals that cost and margin discipline now outweigh the previous “startup‑inside‑Ford” model, aiming for an 8% EBIT margin by 2029. Shareholders gain a clearer profitability roadmap, while the departure of Doug Field and the dissolution of the standalone EV unit curb the company’s autonomous EV innovation structure.
