AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)08/10 Report--

After Changan Ford announced that it would take over Ford Electric Horse operation at the beginning of this month, Ford Electric Horse announced on its official Weibo today that due to operational needs, this Weibo account will be closed on August 25. At the same time, officials said that in order to ensure that future services will not be affected, they can follow Changan Ford to get more information about Ford Electric Horse.

In addition, the official Wechat account of Ford Electric Horse also released a message that on August 25, the business and functions of the official account will be transferred to the Changan Ford official account. With the closure of Ford Electric Horse official account, it also means the end of Ford Electric Horse direct operation mode.

Relevant data show that Ford Electric Mach Technology (Nanjing) Co., Ltd. was established in April 2020, formerly known as Ford Electric Horse Division and some functional departments of Ford Nanjing R & D Center. In April 2021, Ford's pure electric SUV Ford Electric Horse officially opened for pre-sale in the Chinese market, with a price range of 275900 yuan to 389900 yuan. Ford Electric Horse is the first pure electric model of Ford Electric vehicle Division, which is produced by Changan Ford. On October 11, 2021, Ford Mustang Mach-E GT models were launched synchronously around the world, and Ford Electric Horse was officially delivered in China in December 2021. In September last year, Ford adjusted the channel of electric vehicles, and Ford Electric Mach Technology won the right to operate Mustang Mach-E and renamed "Mustang Mach-E" to "Ford Electric Horse".

Ford has said it will accelerate its electrification transformation in China through independent company Ford Electric Mach Technology to operate its electric vehicle business in China. However, to some extent, independent channels can enhance the brand image of Ford Electric Horse, but the persistently depressed sales and huge operating costs have obviously seriously dragged down the pace of Ford Electric Horse in China.

In order to increase sales, Ford Electric Horse has announced several price cuts since last year. In October last year, it announced a price reduction for its models, with a maximum price reduction of 28000 yuan. On March 8 this year, Ford Electric Horse once again announced the clearance of all models on sale, with a time-limited price reduction of 40, 000 yuan and a discount of 209900-329900 yuan for vehicles. Although the discount is strong, the clearance effect of Ford Electric Horse is still not satisfactory. The relevant data show that the sales of Ford Electric Horse from January to June are 3, 84, 283, 332, 249 and 231 respectively.

It is worth noting that Ford Electric Horse has poor sales not only in China, but also globally, with global sales of only 47000 vehicles in the first half of this year. According to Ford's latest results for the second quarter of 2023, the Ford Model e business unit, which focuses on electric vehicles and innovative technologies, had revenue of $1.8 billion and an operating loss of $1.08 billion, while Ford's electric vehicle business lost $1.8 billion from January to June. Officials have said losses are expected to widen to $4.5 billion this year due to the pricing environment for electric cars, investment in next-generation products and capacity and other costs.

With the slow process of electrification and increasing losses, Ford had to make corresponding adjustments to the Ford Electric Horse in China again, and Changan Ford took over the Ford Electric Horse. This adjustment has more advantages than disadvantages for Ford Electric Horse. After all, we can make use of Changan Ford's existing distribution network to quickly expand the sales and service channels of Ford Electric Horse and enhance the sales of Ford Electric Horse. However, the reality is that Changan Ford has been having a hard time lately. Relevant data show that Changan Ford sold 251000 vehicles in 2022, down 17.61% from the same period last year, and its operating income was 51.067 billion yuan, down 17% from the same period last year. In the first half of this year, Changan Ford sold 98000 vehicles, down 12.57 per cent from a year earlier. The automobile industry is concerned that although Changan Ford's distribution model plays a helpful role in the Ford electric horse at the present stage, whether the Ford electric horse can finally be invigorated or not, it still has to return to its own product strength, brand image and marketing.

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