Making cars costs a lot of money, so Ford wants its suppliers to help them save some cash. Liz Door, Ford’s top person for getting car parts, asked suppliers to come up with new ideas to make building cars cheaper, says Automotive News.
Car companies focused a lot on electric cars, but people aren’t buying them as much as expected. Instead, they’re interested in hybrid cars, which are a mix of electric and gas. People who aren’t sure about fully electric cars might like hybrids because they’re selling well.
One big problem with electric cars is they’re expensive. Cars like the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning cost more than gas or hybrid cars. Even if someone wants an electric car, if it’s too pricey, they won’t buy it. One way to make electric cars cheaper is to find ways to build them for less money, and that’s what Ford is trying to do.
In a message, Liz Door said, “We have all invested heavily in the success of the EV business, and we will all win or lose together.” It’s not just Ford that needs to do well; it’s also the suppliers. They’re looking at every possible way to save money, even if it’s just a little bit. But will this make electric cars cheaper for customers?
We asked Sam Abuelsamid, an expert, if small savings in making cars mean lower prices for buyers. He said, “Any small reduction in cost won’t have much, if any, impact on the price a consumer pays in a situation like what we have here where the manufacturer is losing money.”
And that’s a big problem for Ford, which lost over a billion dollars on electric cars last quarter. That’s why they’re asking suppliers for help. They told the media they’re working hard to make electric cars cheaper for customers.
But if you’re planning to buy a new car soon, you probably won’t see any savings from Ford’s efforts right away. It could take up to a year for any savings to show up in the car’s price tag. Making cars cheaper is a long and complicated process that takes time.
