Ford may switch over as early as next year.
Mercedes-Benz will simply morph into an EV company.
There appear to be two schools of thought when it comes to preparing for the near future of the EV car business. Some automakers have announced or are considering splitting their company into complementing factions while others figure it’s best to stay the course as a single business.
Ford is one such company that will divide the company into two pieces. One will be devoted to the internal combustion engine while the other will switch over to EVs. The Blue Oval will ask its dealerships to pick which team they want to join. Ford Blue, the EV arm, will possibly pose a challenge for dealers as one of the proposed new standards could be fixed pricing and doing without inventory. Despite the “choice”, dealers will be allowed to sell both products so long as they follow guidelines.
2023 Volkswagen ID Buzz | Photo: Volkswagen
Over at Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, and Stellantis, the way forward will be to stick to the current game plan. That is to say that these companies will eventually transition over to selling only EVS.
Stellantis’ Chief Financial Officer Richard Palmer said, as reported by Automotive News Europe: “We need to manage the company and assets we have through this transition. There are benefits to having the cash flow from the internal combustion business to drive the technology investments we need to make.”
Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess’ thoughts echo Palmers: “We think making the best use of ICE assets to be fast and competitive in the electric world is the best way forward for us,”
