Ford Sorely Needs Jim Farley’s Model T Swagger
The 122-year-old auto pioneer wants to refocus investors on its future as it struggles with recalls and tariffs.
Reaching for past glory.
Photographer: AFP Contributor/DPAJim Farley says Ford Motor Co. is on the cusp of “a Model T” moment. The chief executive officer had better be right. He was talking up an imminent unveiling of the automaker’s latest electric vehicle efforts during Wednesday evening’s earnings call. It was an effort to focus minds on Ford’s future at a time when it is haunted by the sins of the past and the presidential realities of the present.
The biggest question hanging over Ford heading into results was the same one across most of the sector: What’s happening with tariffs? Ford’s answer was decent enough. While, like General Motors Co., Ford raised its expected full-year tariff tab to $2 billion, it also reinstated profit guidance that was only $1 billion below the original guidance before President Donald Trump’s trade war kicked off and a little higher than the consensus forecast. Net net, the underlying business appears to be doing better, with the all-important Pro fleet division turning in a better quarter than expected.