Fifty-four years after Ford unveiled its first Mustang, the automaker's 10 millionth Mustang rolled off the assembly line at Flat Rock, Michigan, as one of Detroit's Big Three continues to bet on the cultural appeal of its iconic car, even if Ford is shrinking its car portfolio in North America to make more trucks, SUVs, and commercial vehicles.
"That's 10 million cars that have turned heads on every road they've touched. Ten million cars that have taken their drivers further, all while giving them the untouchable cool that comes with driving an American classic," Ford said in a blog post.
The 10 millionth Mustang is a production milestone for a gasoline-powered car at a time in which Ford-like almost all other carmakers-is starting to strategically think and allocate resources to electric vehicles (EVs) and smarter and autonomous vehicles.
Last year, Ford said that it would target aggressive cost cuts, build connected vehicles, and reallocate capital to segments in which it can score future wins. Ford will be reallocating US$7 billion of capital from cars to SUVs and trucks, including the Ranger and EcoSport in North America and the all-new Bronco globally. Ford is also reducing internal combustion engine (ICE) capital expenditures by one-third and redeploying that capital into electrification - on top of the previously announced US$4.5 billion investment, Ford said in October 2017.
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At the beginning of this year, Ford chairman Bill Ford said that the company planned to boost investments in EVs to US$11 billion by 2022 and to have as many as 40 hybrid and fully electric vehicles in its model portfolio by that time.
In April, Ford announced that by 2020, almost 90 percent of the Ford portfolio in North America will be trucks, SUVs, and commercial vehicles. In view of the waning demand and profitability of traditional Ford sedans, the company will not invest in next generations of its traditional sedans for North America.
"Over the next few years, the Ford car portfolio in North America will transition to two vehicles - the best-selling Mustang and the all-new Focus Active crossover coming out next year," Ford said in April 2018.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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Comments
And on a side note, internal combustion powered cars are far more fun to drive than electric ones. That will likely never change.