Predatory Ford surrendered "Forged Hereditary Seal"

Since Henry Ford “mounted wheels for the world” in 1903, Ford’s 100-year-old car shop has witnessed the ups and downs of the automobile world. Now, the 49-year-old "Ford IV" Bill Ford takes the initiative to let the autonomy end its autonomy in Ford's precarious five-year career. Boray's 61-year-old vice president, Mulally, became the first person to become a CEO of a non-automotive industry and become the CEO of a car giant. Will this be the new starting point for Ford's century-old car shop?

On the 5th, the veteran US-based auto giant Ford Motor Co., which was plunged into a loss-making quagmire, unexpectedly announced that former Boeing vice president Alan Mulally took over the “Shuaim” from Ford family successor Bill Ford. President and CEO.

Bill Ford, 49 years old, ended his precarious career in a car company founded by his great-grandfather for five years. The 61-year-old Mulally also became the first person to become the CEO of the "automobile giant" because he became a non-automobile industry.

Boeing "Fire Chief" emergency "airborne"

In the eyes of many people, Ford is on the verge of struggling to hire a layman Mulally. Bill Ford is taking risks.

But Bill Ford obviously does not think so. Mulally's attraction to Bill Ford is that the former has extensive experience in managing and reversing complex manufacturing operations. The two met for the first time at the end of July and hit it off.

"Obviously, many of Boeing's challenges in recent years are similar to ours." Bill Ford said in a letter to employees that as an executive chairman, "I can assure you that I will not leave here. "We must realize that "Ford needs to lead a large manufacturing company to face similar challenges if it wants to rejuvenate."

Mulally is recognized by the industry as the hero who led Boeing out of the bottom. Mulally, who had just spent the first half of his life, was Boeing’s executive vice president. Before going to Ford, all 37 years of his professional career spent time at Boeing. In charge of Boeing's important civil aircraft business. Under its leadership, Boeing’s sales revenue reached a record high of US$22.6 billion last year, making it possible for Boeing to surpass its main rival Airbus.

The market soon responded to this news. After the personnel changes were announced, Ford's share price expanded its gains to $8.62 in after-hours trading, which was previously closed at $8.39, up 1.45%, on the New York Stock Exchange.

"Fortune Store" Ford faces crisis of survival

Mulally is undoubtedly facing a pile of "mess" --- Ford is struggling to prepare for a large-scale restructuring of its loss-making North American operations.

During its heyday, Ford owned famous "stars" such as Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Mazda, Volvo and Land Rover. In addition, Ford also owns Hertz, the world's largest auto credit company, namely Ford Credit and the world's largest car rental company.

Today, Hertz Leasing has been sold by Ford. The control of Ford Credit and the well-known premium brands Aston Martin, Land Rover and Jaguar are also likely to be sold...
Ford is in deep recession and can't extricate himself from his financial report. Ford's second-quarter loss was as high as $254 million.

As gasoline prices continue to climb, Ford's "core profit engine" - multi-purpose sports cars and trucks and other models are no longer favored by consumers. This forced Ford to have to reduce production, shut down some factories, and increase layoff costs.

In terms of cost control, Ford, like its rival General Motors, also lost to foreign rivals such as Toyota Motor, and continued to lose its share of the US market. This summer, Toyota surpassed Ford for the first time to become the second-largest automobile seller in the United States.

In China, the earlier Ford currently owns Changan Ford, Jiangling Motors, which holds a 30% stake, Changan Ford Mazda and many other companies. However, due to the slow launch of models, it still ends up as a big early-morning event. "The performance is far behind GM, Volkswagen and Hyundai, and it has even been exceeded by Toyota."

It is undoubtedly an unprecedented challenge to be placed in front of the “fire captain” Mulally. According to the US "Business Week" report, on September 14, Ford will hold a board of directors, when it is expected that its management team will come up with a plan. The plan includes a "company-wide buyout plan" that is faster than the old "selective buyout plan" to reduce the work position; accelerate the launch of two important products; speed up the factory closure plan. At the same time, the big question that still needs to be resolved is whether Ford should be privately owned; whether it should sell three brands of “Puma”, “Land Rover” and “Aston Martin”; whether it should close the “Lincoln/Mercury” factory; Should obtain full control over Mazda Motor Company; whether to sell control shares in the "Ford Motor Credit Company".

News background

"Ford IV" five years of precarious

In 1903, Henry Ford founded the Ford Motor Company and "put the wheels on the world." Today, this century-old store that witnessed the history of the auto industry is in deep trouble. Observers pointed out that this reflects the paralysis of family businesses to some extent.

The current chairman, Bill Ford, is the fourth generation of the Ford family and the great-grandson of the old Henry Ford. In 1957, Bill Ford was born in the automobile city of Detroit with the "golden key". In 1979, at the age of 22, he graduated from Princeton University and joined the Ford Motor Company founded by his great-grandfather. The first position was a product designer and later worked in the production, sales, marketing, R&D, and finance departments. In 1988 Bill entered the company's board of directors. In January 1999, Bill was elected chairman of the Ford Motor Company as the fourth generation head of the family.

In 2001, Bill Ford was promoted to the CEO because of the "Fasterstone tire crisis." Since Bill's uncle retired from the position of chairman of the company in 1980, members of the Ford family did not personally take care of the family business for 20 years.

At the beginning of his tenure, Bill proposed a "five-year revival plan," which includes a $4 billion reduction in costs and large layoffs. In 2003, Bill's plan did make Ford a turnaround. However, the fall of the next two years has left Ford's family-owned management facing the test. Bill Ford began to think about yin.