Demand for Ford’s all-electric F-150 Lightning is increasing: Orders over 100,000 units | news

The Ford Motor Company has set another milestone with its all-electric 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning.

The company has confirmed that it has hit 100,000 bookings since its global premiere three weeks ago at Dearborn’s world headquarters.

“We are very happy about the demand,” said Ford spokeswoman Emma Berg. “Reservations are being added all the time.”

She said the official order bank will open later this year.

The automaker is accepting a $ 100 refundable reservation to order a 2022 pickup truck to be built at the Rouge Complex’s new $ 700 million factory.

Placing refundable pre-orders online is part of a new protocol for automakers. Ford did the same with its all-electric Mustang Mach-E.

Meanwhile, Ford is touting its ability to hire talented people to develop the latest digital technologies while expanding its range of all-electric and hybrid vehicles.

Ford CEO Jim Farley said the company will leverage its data and software expertise to an unprecedented level in the industry. This is an important part of the digital service delivery and subscription revenue strategy that is transforming auto sales from a one-time transactional process.

Industry analysts and the media wonder if the Ford team can find the talent it needs to lead the tech era.

“Basically, Ford is solving a big challenge, isn’t it? A huge challenge. At some point we find ourselves in a changing industry and a changing company. May 26 On a phone call on Capital Markets Day, Alex Purdy, director of business operations at Enterprise Connectivity, told reporters.

“Last week we tried to recruit someone from Google, but he came from a company that encourages consumers to click on ads. We come from a business that brings mobility to a whole new generation. ”He said.

“I think we succeeded because of the challenge. We were really lucky to be talented, but there is a lot more to come, ”said Purdy.

“Ford currently has more than 6,000 software engineers, 600 of whom actually participated in 2021. Its a lot to do. But we are in terms of challenge and strategy. I believe that the path we have presented is a compelling reason for talents to join us. “

Consumers have moved from empowering technology in the home to empowering technology in vehicles. In short, automakers need software engineering talent.

Silicon Valley companies take great pride in the quality of their software engineers, including Tesla, a manufacturer of all-electric vehicles.

Will these wonderful hearts in demand in California work for old automakers?

“What we’re learning through this process … actually, coming to Ford is not a challenge for talent outside of Ford,” Farley made a presentation to Wall Street analysts on May 26th. I told reporters afterwards. “The challenge is getting Ford to think about the software experience before thinking about anything else. That’s a change. It’s a really big opportunity for us … across the company. “

Analysts and investors often ask about potential partners, but Farley has announced different technology plans for residential and commercial customers.

When it comes to Ford Pro Business, “I don’t think the ecosystem will partner.” That’s what Ford is doing, “he said. “One size doesn’t fit all. The ecosystem we want to build at Ford will likely have a much smaller footprint for our technology partners. “

According to Ford spokeswoman Marisa Bradley, the automaker employed more than 7,000 software engineers in the United States and Canada on Thursday developing the design, architecture, data, testing, and other technologies and infrastructures. Working on the role of.

Farley, who became CEO on October 1, began hiring software engineers who had previously played roles in technology leaders. Former CEO Jim Hackett announced in April 2019 that it would increase its focus on new businesses, technologies and big data.

“We hired 600 software engineers this year alone, which is certainly more than a year ago,” said Bradley. “Push started before Jim Farley became CEO, but it was certainly a catalyst because it had a new business role.”

Ford sells approximately one million Ford F-Series pickups each year.

Demand for Ford’s all-electric F-150 Lightning is increasing: Orders over 100,000 units | news

Source link Demand for Ford’s all-electric F-150 Lightning is increasing: Orders over 100,000 units | news