Ford targets Tesla by splitting in two! Electric car 'start up' separates from internal combustion engine business, but Australian R&D unit safe

Ford is ramping up its electrification plans by splitting its business into two distinct areas – electric vehicles (EV) and internal combustion engine (ICE) cars.

The US carmaking giant is making the move so it can maximise its profits and to streamline processes and make it easier to develop EVs in the future.

The EV business will be called Model e and the ICE business is Ford Blue. This is on top of Ford Pro which was created in May last year to focus on commercial vehicles.

According to Ford, Model e and Blue Ford will operate independently, although they will collaborate on some projects.

Ford wants to run in a similar way to a start up, like Rivian or any number of other smaller EV manufacturers that have popped up in the past couple of years. Tesla was described as a start up when it was smaller, but it has moved beyond that status now it’s the world’s most valuable car company.

It doesn’t look like the split will impact the Australian design, research and development arm, according to a Ford spokesperson.

“We don’t anticipate any impact on the work of our Australia-based team, who continue to be focused on leading the design and engineering of the Ranger, Ranger Raptor, Everest and other global vehicles.”

Ford says that EVs will account for 30 per cent of its global sales in five years, increasing to 50 per cent by 2030. The company hopes its EVs will capture “the same, or even greater, market shares in vehicle segments where Ford already leads”.

The company plans to double its spend on EVs to $5 billion.

While the Model e team will be responsible for building out Ford’s electric vehicle portfolio that already includes the F150 Lightning pick-up truck, Mustang Mach-E four-door crossover and Transit van.

Model e will take a clean-sheet approach to design and launching new vehicles and products, build new software platforms and even work on a new “shopping, buying and ownership experience” for EV customers.

Ford Blue will build on Ford’s current ICE line-up that includes the F-Series, Ranger, Maverick, Bronco, Explorer and Mustang, “with investments in new models, derivatives, experiences and services”.