作為一家有著120年歷史的公司,福特汽車(chē)(Ford Motor)在向電動(dòng)汽車(chē)大公司邁進(jìn)的過(guò)程中并不怎么順利。
然而,就在首席執(zhí)行官吉姆·法利鞭策這家汽車(chē)巨頭與埃隆·馬斯克的特斯拉(Tesla)以及中國(guó)的比亞迪進(jìn)行競(jìng)爭(zhēng)之際,他表示自己已經(jīng)找到了成功的秘訣,而且異常之簡(jiǎn)單。
法利在9月6日的一個(gè)活動(dòng)中表示:“我發(fā)現(xiàn),電動(dòng)汽車(chē)的買(mǎi)家想要的只是一部好車(chē)而已。他們并不想要科學(xué)項(xiàng)目,而是想要真正的好產(chǎn)品。”
在美國(guó)紐約舉行的通用電氣(GE)“精簡(jiǎn)思維”(The Lean Mindset)的活動(dòng)中,法利在與Uber的首席執(zhí)行官達(dá)拉·霍斯勞沙希對(duì)話時(shí)回憶了2017年取消野馬Mach-E(Mustang Mach-E)設(shè)計(jì)的情形,因?yàn)樗翱吹皆擁?xiàng)目之后覺(jué)得其設(shè)計(jì)幾乎與豐田普銳斯(Toyota Prius)雷同,并將該設(shè)計(jì)稱(chēng)之為“一個(gè)笑話”。
法利說(shuō):“我看到這個(gè)設(shè)計(jì)之后直搖頭。我們還是得把精力放在自家的優(yōu)勢(shì)之上,例如野馬和皮卡車(chē)?!?/p>
該決定似乎得到了回報(bào):Electrek的數(shù)據(jù)顯示,8月,野馬Mach-E的銷(xiāo)量同比激增了61%,讓其成為了美國(guó)第二暢銷(xiāo)的電動(dòng)SUV,僅次于特斯拉的Model Y。
然而,事實(shí)證明,向電動(dòng)汽車(chē)進(jìn)軍的舉措是一場(chǎng)成本高昂的豪賭。
7月,福特預(yù)測(cè),其稱(chēng)之為Ford Model e的電動(dòng)汽車(chē)部門(mén)在2023年將出現(xiàn)45億美元的虧損,較其此前在3月的預(yù)測(cè)躍升了50%。
給電動(dòng)汽車(chē)充電也并非易事,法利在最近F-150 Lightning橫跨66號(hào)公路(Route 66)的試駕中得到了切身體會(huì)。
這位首席執(zhí)行官等了40分鐘才用低速充電器將該車(chē)的電量充到了40%,他在一個(gè)發(fā)布于X [原名為推特(Twitter)]的視頻里承認(rèn),這個(gè)“頗具挑戰(zhàn)性”的流程“真的不能想當(dāng)然”。
從今年春季開(kāi)始,充電速度應(yīng)該已經(jīng)有所改善,因?yàn)榈靡嬗?月宣布的新合作關(guān)系,福特和通用汽車(chē)(GM)的司機(jī)將能夠使用特斯拉的超充網(wǎng)絡(luò)。
與特斯拉和自己競(jìng)爭(zhēng)
法利把早期的電動(dòng)汽車(chē)比作“9局競(jìng)賽中的第一輪產(chǎn)品”。他說(shuō),下個(gè)階段的開(kāi)發(fā)要求公司完全秉承kaizen原則,也就是日語(yǔ)中的持續(xù)改善,備受豐田-福特競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手以及法利前雇主的追捧。
法利解釋說(shuō):“為了簡(jiǎn)約性和成本削減,我們實(shí)際上不得不徹底改變產(chǎn)品的工程設(shè)計(jì)?!彼€提到了公司去年的重組。
為了適應(yīng)不斷變化的汽車(chē)格局,法利把公司拆分成三個(gè)部門(mén):專(zhuān)注于電動(dòng)汽車(chē)未來(lái)的Ford Model e、專(zhuān)注于內(nèi)燃機(jī)項(xiàng)目的Ford Blue,以及現(xiàn)有的商業(yè)部門(mén)Ford Pro。
“我們已經(jīng)沒(méi)有時(shí)間讓內(nèi)燃機(jī)的員工來(lái)學(xué)習(xí)電動(dòng)汽車(chē)以及內(nèi)嵌數(shù)字化系統(tǒng)的車(chē)輛構(gòu)架?!狈ɡ忉尩??!拔也坏貌辉O(shè)立一個(gè)幾乎是充滿內(nèi)部競(jìng)爭(zhēng)的機(jī)構(gòu),但各部門(mén)之間又有一些依存關(guān)系?!?/p>
法利認(rèn)為此舉有助于削減福特的生產(chǎn)和供應(yīng)鏈成本,“這樣,我便可以在特斯拉降價(jià)兩萬(wàn)美元時(shí)依然與其競(jìng)爭(zhēng),而且特斯拉現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)這樣做了?!?/p>
盡管這位汽車(chē)巨頭依然在為迎接第二代電動(dòng)汽車(chē)的到來(lái)進(jìn)行調(diào)整,法利稱(chēng),公司理念的轉(zhuǎn)變?cè)谶@一過(guò)程中大有助益。
他說(shuō):“有時(shí)候,kaizen意味著每天的一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)進(jìn)步,而有時(shí)候,kaizen意味著對(duì)整個(gè)工程設(shè)計(jì)的全面顛覆?!保ㄘ?cái)富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:馮豐
審校:夏林
作為一家有著120年歷史的公司,福特汽車(chē)(Ford Motor)在向電動(dòng)汽車(chē)大公司邁進(jìn)的過(guò)程中并不怎么順利。
然而,就在首席執(zhí)行官吉姆·法利鞭策這家汽車(chē)巨頭與埃隆·馬斯克的特斯拉(Tesla)以及中國(guó)的比亞迪進(jìn)行競(jìng)爭(zhēng)之際,他表示自己已經(jīng)找到了成功的秘訣,而且異常之簡(jiǎn)單。
法利在9月6日的一個(gè)活動(dòng)中表示:“我發(fā)現(xiàn),電動(dòng)汽車(chē)的買(mǎi)家想要的只是一部好車(chē)而已。他們并不想要科學(xué)項(xiàng)目,而是想要真正的好產(chǎn)品。”
在美國(guó)紐約舉行的通用電氣(GE)“精簡(jiǎn)思維”(The Lean Mindset)的活動(dòng)中,法利在與Uber的首席執(zhí)行官達(dá)拉·霍斯勞沙希對(duì)話時(shí)回憶了2017年取消野馬Mach-E(Mustang Mach-E)設(shè)計(jì)的情形,因?yàn)樗翱吹皆擁?xiàng)目之后覺(jué)得其設(shè)計(jì)幾乎與豐田普銳斯(Toyota Prius)雷同,并將該設(shè)計(jì)稱(chēng)之為“一個(gè)笑話”。
法利說(shuō):“我看到這個(gè)設(shè)計(jì)之后直搖頭。我們還是得把精力放在自家的優(yōu)勢(shì)之上,例如野馬和皮卡車(chē)。”
該決定似乎得到了回報(bào):Electrek的數(shù)據(jù)顯示,8月,野馬Mach-E的銷(xiāo)量同比激增了61%,讓其成為了美國(guó)第二暢銷(xiāo)的電動(dòng)SUV,僅次于特斯拉的Model Y。
然而,事實(shí)證明,向電動(dòng)汽車(chē)進(jìn)軍的舉措是一場(chǎng)成本高昂的豪賭。
7月,福特預(yù)測(cè),其稱(chēng)之為Ford Model e的電動(dòng)汽車(chē)部門(mén)在2023年將出現(xiàn)45億美元的虧損,較其此前在3月的預(yù)測(cè)躍升了50%。
給電動(dòng)汽車(chē)充電也并非易事,法利在最近F-150 Lightning橫跨66號(hào)公路(Route 66)的試駕中得到了切身體會(huì)。
這位首席執(zhí)行官等了40分鐘才用低速充電器將該車(chē)的電量充到了40%,他在一個(gè)發(fā)布于X [原名為推特(Twitter)]的視頻里承認(rèn),這個(gè)“頗具挑戰(zhàn)性”的流程“真的不能想當(dāng)然”。
從今年春季開(kāi)始,充電速度應(yīng)該已經(jīng)有所改善,因?yàn)榈靡嬗?月宣布的新合作關(guān)系,福特和通用汽車(chē)(GM)的司機(jī)將能夠使用特斯拉的超充網(wǎng)絡(luò)。
與特斯拉和自己競(jìng)爭(zhēng)
法利把早期的電動(dòng)汽車(chē)比作“9局競(jìng)賽中的第一輪產(chǎn)品”。他說(shuō),下個(gè)階段的開(kāi)發(fā)要求公司完全秉承kaizen原則,也就是日語(yǔ)中的持續(xù)改善,備受豐田-福特競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手以及法利前雇主的追捧。
法利解釋說(shuō):“為了簡(jiǎn)約性和成本削減,我們實(shí)際上不得不徹底改變產(chǎn)品的工程設(shè)計(jì)。”他還提到了公司去年的重組。
為了適應(yīng)不斷變化的汽車(chē)格局,法利把公司拆分成三個(gè)部門(mén):專(zhuān)注于電動(dòng)汽車(chē)未來(lái)的Ford Model e、專(zhuān)注于內(nèi)燃機(jī)項(xiàng)目的Ford Blue,以及現(xiàn)有的商業(yè)部門(mén)Ford Pro。
“我們已經(jīng)沒(méi)有時(shí)間讓內(nèi)燃機(jī)的員工來(lái)學(xué)習(xí)電動(dòng)汽車(chē)以及內(nèi)嵌數(shù)字化系統(tǒng)的車(chē)輛構(gòu)架。”法利解釋道?!拔也坏貌辉O(shè)立一個(gè)幾乎是充滿內(nèi)部競(jìng)爭(zhēng)的機(jī)構(gòu),但各部門(mén)之間又有一些依存關(guān)系?!?/p>
法利認(rèn)為此舉有助于削減福特的生產(chǎn)和供應(yīng)鏈成本,“這樣,我便可以在特斯拉降價(jià)兩萬(wàn)美元時(shí)依然與其競(jìng)爭(zhēng),而且特斯拉現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)這樣做了?!?/p>
盡管這位汽車(chē)巨頭依然在為迎接第二代電動(dòng)汽車(chē)的到來(lái)進(jìn)行調(diào)整,法利稱(chēng),公司理念的轉(zhuǎn)變?cè)谶@一過(guò)程中大有助益。
他說(shuō):“有時(shí)候,kaizen意味著每天的一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)進(jìn)步,而有時(shí)候,kaizen意味著對(duì)整個(gè)工程設(shè)計(jì)的全面顛覆?!保ㄘ?cái)富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:馮豐
審校:夏林
Ford has hit a few speed bumps trying to turn a 120-year-old company into an electric vehicle powerhouse.
But as CEO Jim Farley pushes the auto giant to compete with the likes of Elon Musk’s Tesla and China’s BYD, he says he’s found the secret to success—and it’s surprisingly basic.
“I found out that people who buy electric vehicles just want really good shit,” Farley said at an event on September 6 “They don’t want science projects, they want really great product.”
In a conversation with Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi at GE’s “The Lean Mindset” event in New York, Farley recalled scrapping the initial design for the Mustang Mach-E in 2017 after he saw the project and thought it looked too much like a Toyota Prius, a design he has derided as “a joke.”
“I saw it and I was like, no,” Farley said. “We gotta lean into what we’re really good at, like Mustangs and pick-up trucks.”
The decision appears to have paid off: In August, Mustang Mach-E sales surged 61% year over year, making it the second-best-selling electric SUV in the U.S., behind only Tesla’s Model Y, according to Electrek.
However, the push to an EV future is proving to be an expensive bet.
In July, Ford predicted that its EV division, dubbed Ford Model e, would lose $4.5 billion in 2023, a 50% jump from the losses it previously forecast in March.
Charging the cars also isn’t easy, something Farley experienced firsthand during a recent test drive of an F-150 Lightning across Route 66.
After waiting 40 minutes for a low-speed charger to get his battery to a 40% charge, the CEO admitted in a video posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, that the “pretty challenging” process was a “really good reality check.”
Starting this spring, charging speed should improve, as Ford and GM drivers will be able to use Tesla’s Supercharger network, thanks to a new partnership announced in June.
Competing with Tesla—and itself
Farley likens Ford’s early EVs as the “first-inning products in a nine-inning game.” He says the next phase of development has required the company to lean into the principles of kaizen, the Japanese model of continuous improvement popularized by Toyota–Ford’s competitor and Farley’s former employer.
“We actually had to have a revolution on the engineering of the product for simplicity and for cost reduction,” Farley explained, recalling the company’s restructure last year.
To adapt to a changing auto landscape, Farley split the company into three units: Ford Model e, centered around an EV future; Ford Blue, centered around the internal-combustion business; and Ford Pro, the existing commercial arm.
“I don’t have the time for internal combustion engine people to learn about electric vehicles and digital embedded vehicle architecture,” Farley explained. “I had to set up almost a competing organization that has some dependency on each other.”
Farley credits the move with helping to cut costs from Ford’s manufacturing and supply chain “so that I can compete when Tesla cuts their price $20,000, which they now have.”
While the auto giant is still tweaking its lineup for the second generation of electric vehicles, Farley says the company’s changing mindset is helping it along.
“Sometimes kaizen are little improvements everyday, and sometimes kaizen means completely rewriting your entire engineering approach,” he said.