Ford Chairman Bill Ford’s vision of a greener auto industry is finally on the horizon

Published

4 years ago

September 3, 2021

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In this article

Ford Chairman Bill Ford speaks May 19, 2021 during the unveiling of the electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck outside the automaker’s world headquarters in Dearborn, Mich.

Ford

DETROIT – A decade ago, Ford Motor was positioning itself to be a leader in electrified vehicles with new global models such as the C-Max and Focus Electric.

Those “green” cars were to lead the automaker’s efforts to potentially electrify 25% of its fleet by 2020, Ford Chairman Bill Ford wrote in a May 2011 article for Fortune Magazine. They didn’t and Ford watched as a start-up, Tesla, emerged as the industry’s benchmark for zero-emissions vehicles, and crosstown rival General Motors became Wall Street’s top legacy automaker for EVs.

Ford’s newest CEO Jim Farley, who took the helm Oct. 1, quickly announced a harder pivot to EVs as the automaker released an all-electric Mustang crossover and an upcoming F-150. While the new electric vehicles have been well received, Ford has to fight for a leadership position amid a litany of old and new competitors.

It’s something Bill Ford, great grandson of the company’s founder, is well aware of. A greener automotive industry has always been a mission of his. As an environmentalist and the longest running chairperson of any automaker, he has acted as a rare champion, or conscience, of green practices in the industry.

It’s something that was historically taboo, even discouraged, in a business reliant on fossil fuels to power its products and large trucks to drive its profits.

But that’s changing. The promise of electric vehicles and Wall Street’s support of more sustainable companies has Ford believing his decades-long vision of a greener automotive industry and company are finally achievable. And investors have taken notice, sending shares of Ford up by about 50% in 2021.

“When I joined the company in 1979, I joined as somebody who cared deeply about the environment, and I was absolutely appalled that that view was not only not shared, but it was frankly scorned within the company,” he told CNBC during a video interview. “That’s all changed now. And, yes, it makes me really excited.”

Bill Ford admits that the company’s early “green cars” may have not been as successful as he wanted at that time. But he believes the industry and consumer acceptance of electric vehicles is changing and that his push for a more sustainable industry was right all along.

“They may not have been the right time, they might not have been quite ready for primetime when they came out, but directionally, it was absolutely the right thing to do,” Ford said.

Ford vs. Trump

Doing the “right thing” hasn’t always been easy for the 64-year-old automotive heir. His support for both the environment and the industry have always been at odds with one another and drawn criticism from supporters of both sides.

Most recently, former President Donald Trump publicly condemned Bill Ford and the company last year for agreeing with California on stricter fuel economy and emissions standards.

Ford was the only American automaker to do so at the time. Ford’s largest crosstown rival – General Motors – backed the Trump administration before changing its stance to support California following Joe Biden, a supporter of EVs and stricter vehicle emissions regulations, defeating Trump.

President Donald Trump wears a mask during a private viewing of three Ford GTs from over the years at the Ford Rawsonville plant.

NBC News

“It’s important to stand for things. We’ve taken stances on the environment that haven’t always been popular, and in many cases have gone against what the rest of our industry has done,” Ford, whose career now spans seven American presidents, said. “And that’s OK because it gives you a sense of who you are.”

Farley, who joined Ford in 2007, earlier this year described that sense as being “absolutely” imperative to the automaker and its future plans. The company is soon expected to release more on its sustainability plans and how they relate to its new Ford+ turnaround plan.

Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund, said the company’s support of California’s emissions standards and the Paris Climate Agreement were two of the most recent examples of Bill Ford’s leadership in the industry.

“He’s been a leader,” Krupp, who has known Ford for 20 years, said during a phone interview. “I can’t think of another American auto executive that has done more to move the issue forward than Bill.”

EVs

Despite the chairman’s support for EVs and the environment, the automaker hasn’t said when it expects to convert its entire lineup to EVs, unlike rival GM which has said it plans to go all electric by 2035. Ford has said it expects 40% of its sales volume globally to be all-electric vehicle by 2030.

Bill Ford said it’s ultimately up to consumers to decide just how quickly EV adoption will occur, but more investment and new products will help. Ford’s current lineup includes plug-in hybrid electric vehicles with gasoline engines as well as the Mustang Mach-E crossover – its only EV.

“Our customers will really dictate how quickly it happens,” Ford said. “But I will tell you that we’ll be ready when that happens. We’re pushing incredibly hard. You’ll see more announcements from us in the near future.”

Ford Motor Executive Chairman Bill Ford, left, and actor Idris Elba next to Ford’s all-electric Mustang Mach-E GT SUV at Jet Center Los Angeles in Hawthorne, California on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2019. Elba, who previously worked at Ford Motor Co. in the 1980s, helped introduce the vehicle to the public.

Ford

Ford has at least two additional EVs coming by mid-next year – a commercial van later this year and an electric version of the F-150 pickup called Lightning. The new EVs are part of Ford’s plans to invest more than $30 billion in electric vehicles through 2025, about $7 billion of which had already been invested before February.

Ford said he’s “very confident” that the automaker can be a leader in electric vehicles. He also believes there will be some consolidation in the automotive industry, as a barrage of new competitors attempt to entire the space.

“We are clearly an industry in the middle of change and I believe that if we were too fast forward 10 years from now, there will be clear winners and losers in this new world of EVs, [autonomous vehicles] and software,” he said. “I think that the winners may not be all the familiar faces that people would have thought of.

“I mean clearly look at a company like Tesla, which is a very young company, and they’ve done incredibly well. There will be others like that.”

Aside from its own investments in EVs, Ford is a minority investor in EV truck start-up Rivian, which filed for an initial public offering last week. The company is reportedly seeking a valuation of $80 billion – giving the young company a higher valuation than Ford at $51 billion and GM at $71 billion.

RJ Scaringe, Rivian founder and CEO, and Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford announce a $500 million Ford investment in Rivian.

Source: Ford Motor Co.

Achieving his vision

EVs aren’t the only part of Bill Ford’s vision for a greener future. He believes autonomous vehicles and reworking the industry’s manufacturing and supply chain need to happen as well.

He said more needs to be done regarding reducing the industry’s entire carbon footprint, including using more renewable energy to produce vehicles, as well as autonomous vehicles that can ease public transportation problems and global gridlock.

“We don’t have to be 100% in any one of those areas, but if I feel like we are well on our way in all of those areas, and I feel like it’s early days, but yes, we’re headed down all those roads. Yeah, then I’ll feel great,” he said.

While the shift to EVs is in its early days, Ford, 64, isn’t after a more than 40-year career with the automaker. However, he has no plans of stepping down from the company for the foreseeable future, even as a younger generation of Ford’s join the board. His daughter, Alexandra Ford English, and nephew, Henry Ford III, were both elected to the company’s board in May.

“I feel like I’m adding value to Ford today, maybe more than I ever have,” Ford said. “As long as I feel like I’m contributing and can work at the pace that the company needs me to work at, I’ll be here. Someday that won’t be the case and I think I’ll know when that happens.”

Ford Motor Company today announced that Alexandra Ford English and Henry Ford III have been nominated to stand for election to the company’s board of directors at its annual meeting of shareholders on May 13.

Source: Ford Motor Co.

Environment

It seems like Elon Musk stoking a civil war in England isn’t good for Tesla’s sales there

Published

11 hours ago

November 6, 2025

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It seems like Elon Musk stoking a civil war in England isn't good for Tesla's sales there

Tesla’s EV registrations in the UK, its biggest market in Europe, took a dramatic hit in October 2025 — just 511 units — marking one of the brand’s weakest showings in recent memory. That’s a steep drop from 971 in October 2024 and 2,677 in October 2023. The tone of the market is shifting.

Maybe Tesla’s CEO stoking a civil war in England isn’t helping the automaker’s demand in the important market.

Tesla’s sales have been struggling in Europe over the past two years, and the decline has been accelerating in 2025.

While some believed that things were stabilizing for the American automaker in Europe, the October data tells a different story. Tesla had its worst month of deliveries of the year in 12 of its 15 biggest European markets.

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As Tesla sales in Germany crashed over the last year, partly because Tesla CEO Elon Musk supported the far-right AfD party, the UK became Tesla’s biggest market in Europe.

But now it looks like the UK is going in the same direction.

According to registration data, Tesla delivered only 511 vehicles in the UK in October 2025. Tesla has over 50 stores in the country – that’s an average of roughly 10 vehicles per location for the whole month.

It’s the worst monthly performance since October 2022.

Much as Tesla’s demand crashed in Germany, Elon Musk’s politics might be behind the lower demand in the UK.

The CEO regularly comments on UK politics and often shares inflammatory reports about crimes perpetrated by immigrants. He also shares misleading crime and immigration statistics aimed at spreading hatred.

After he tweeted that “Civil war is inevitable. Just a question of when.”, he was accused of stoking a civil war in the country.

Musk’s public commentary on UK topics has sparked backlash and resulted in his “unfavorability rating” reaching 80% in the country.

Electrek’s Take

Meanwhile, Tesla’s demand cliff is opening the door to competitors. BYD is now expected to outsell Tesla in the whole year of 2025 in the UK despite Tesla having a presence in the market for much longer.

Not many industry watchers thought it would happen this fast.

Tesla appears to be completely missing out on the surge of EV sales in Europe due to a mix of having a stagnant EV lineup, brand problems brought on by a controversial CEO, and increased competition.

In the US, Musk is believed to have cost Tesla about 1 million sales over the last 3 years.

I think it will soon be approaching this number in Europe.

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Environment

HEINEKEN is brewing beer with a massive 100 MWh heat battery

Published

12 hours ago

November 5, 2025

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HEINEKEN is brewing beer with a massive 100 MWh heat battery

Rondo Energy and energy producer EDP are installing a massive 100 MWh renewable-powered heat battery at HEINEKEN’s brewery in Lisbon, Portugal. The project will deliver round-the-clock renewable steam and reduce emissions without altering the facility’s beer brewing process.

Brewing HEINEKEN with zero-carbon steam

The Rondo Heat Battery (RHB) will be the biggest deployed in the beverage industry worldwide. It can store electricity as high-temperature heat using refractory bricks, then convert that heat into 24/7 steam, all without burning fossil fuels.

At HEINEKEN’s Central de Cervejas e Bebidas Brewery and Malting Plant, the heat battery system will supply 7 MW of steam, powered by renewable electricity from onsite solar and the grid. That steam is identical to steam created by gas-fired boilers, but without the carbon pollution.

EDP is providing the renewable electricity and will deliver the steam directly to HEINEKEN via a Heat-as-a-Service model. Rondo is supplying the battery, and HEINEKEN gets to ditch fossil fuels without retooling its brewing process.

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Why this matters

This project is a big win for industrial decarbonization. High-temperature steam is one of the most complex parts of manufacturing to electrify, and the beer industry runs on it. HEINEKEN’s Lisbon site already uses solar panels for electricity and electric heat pumps for hot water, and this move helps it go even further.

It’s part of HEINEKEN’s “Brew a Better World” plan to hit net zero emissions by 2040 and decarbonize all of its global production sites by 2030.

Additionally, the deployment aligns with Portugal’s national target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030.

The bigger picture

With the European Investment Bank and Breakthrough Energy Catalyst backing this and other Rondo projects with €75 million in funding, this Lisbon installation is just the beginning. Rondo’s technology enables energy-hungry industries to switch from fossil fuels to renewable electricity without compromising 24/7 operations.

Rondo CEO Eric Trusiewicz sums it up: “We are thrilled to be installing our first Rondo Heat Battery in Iberia, and to support HEINEKEN to reach its goals. We look forward to helping industries across Iberia cut costs and carbon, and help Iberia capitalize on the opportunity.”

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Environment

Lucid (LCID) misses Q3 earnings estimates, but there’s some good news

Published

13 hours ago

November 5, 2025

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Lucid (LCID) misses Q3 earnings estimates, but there's some good news

Lucid Group (LCID) reported third-quarter earnings after the market closed on Wednesday, missing top and bottom-line estimates.

With 4,078 vehicles delivered in Q3, Lucid marked its seventh straight quarter with higher deliveries. Through the first nine months of 2025, Lucid delivered nearly 10,500 vehicles, more than the roughly 10,200 it handed over in 2024.

Although supply chain issues hampered production in the first half of the year, Lucid’s CEO Marc Winterhoff said the company made “significant progress ramping production of the Lucid Gravity through Q3,” including adding a second manufacturing shift at its Casa Grande, Arizona, plant.

Lucid produced 3,891 vehicles in Q3, missing estimates of around 5,600. With 9,966 EVs produced through the third quarter, Lucid will need to build over 8,000 more to meet its full-year production goal of 18,000 to 20,000.

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According to estimates, Lucid is expected to report an adjusted quarterly loss of $2.27 per share on revenue of $352 million in Q3 2025.

Lucid Group Q3 2025 earnings breakdown

Lucid missed top and bottom-line estimates as it continues to address industry-wide supply chain issues that are hampering production of the Gravity SUV.

Although it missed estimates, Lucid reported Q3 revenue of $336.6 million, which is still up 68% from $200 million in the same period last year.

Lucid’s net loss narrowed to $978.4 million in the third quarter, or $3.31 per share, from $992.5 million, or $4.09 per share, in Q3 2024. On an adjusted basis, Lucid posted a loss of $2.65 per share.

In addition, Lucid said it agreed with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) to increase the delayed draw term loan credit facility (DDTL) from $750 million to around $2 billion.

Given the increase, Lucid said total liquidity would have been around $5.5 billion at the end of Q3, up from the $4.2 billion it reported. Lucid ended the third quarter with $1.6 billion in cash and equivalents.

Lucid-mind-off-L4-EVs — Lucid’s midsize crossover SUV (left) and Gravity SUV (right) Source: Lucid Group

Lucid said liquidity is enough to fund it through the first half of 2027, up from the second half of 2026, as previously forecast. Lucid plans to launch production of its more affordable midsize platform in late 2026 with vehicles starting at around $50,000.

Lucid confirmed it was still on track to start production of the midsize platform later next year. However, given the supply chain issues, it now expects to hit the lower end of its production goal at around 18,000.

Lucid-Q3-deliveries-production — The Lucid Gravity debuts in Europe (Source: Lucid)

Winterhoff said the company “remains intensely focused on ramping up production and addressing the significant supply chain disruptions impacting the entire industry.”

Lucid is advancing other emerging tech, including autonomy and intelligent mobility. Through a new partnership with NVIDIA, Lucid aims to be among the first to offer Level 4 autonomous driving.

The third-quarter earnings miss comes after Rivian (RIVN) beat expectations this week, reporting higher revenue and improving gross margins.

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