New Ford CEO Aims to Release More Affordable Cars in the US

With a new CEO comes a new set of policies and priorities. Such is the case for Ford as it welcomes new CEO Jim Farley, following Jim Hackett’s retirement in August.

Amid plans for the upcoming release of the all-new F-150 and the return of the Bronco SUV, Farley expressed his intentions to realign the brand’s focus on more affordable vehicles.

According to him, the company should move with “urgency” in reducing costs, improving quality, and restructuring underperforming businesses. On top of that, he also announced Ford is working to add more budget-friendly vehicles in the lineup not only for global release but also within the United States.

At the moment, the EcoSport is the cheapest vehicle in Ford’s North American lineup, selling for just under $20,000. This came to be after the automaker killed the Fiesta and Focus with Hackett at the helm.

Now that Farley is heading the company and has expressed his interest in offering budget cars to customers, people are wondering if Ford will bring back the Fiesta and release the Ford Puma subcompact crossover in the US.

“During the last three years, under Jim Hackett’s leadership, we have made meaningful progress and opened the door to becoming a vibrant, profitable growing company,” Farley said. “Now it’s time to charge through that door.”

Farley did not go into detail about the budget models possibly joining the Ford lineup, but he mentioned some of the company’s goals. These include releasing cutting-edge technology and software, increasing diversity in the company, and doubling on efforts to produce autonomous vehicles.

It remains to be seen which models are going to be the main focus under Farley’s leadership. But if affordability is a major consideration in developing Ford vehicles with the same level of quality and performance, loyal Ford customers can only celebrate with much anticipation.