#automotive

I work in Ford Credit / Lincoln Customer Service. You get a good picture of how poorly made these vehicles are listening to the customers. Vehicles sitting at dealers for months waiting on parts / engines, etc. while customer still making payments on the vehicles. Not enough loaner vehicles to go around in the process. Lots of buybacks if the dealer can do it depending on state limitations, etc.It is truly a mess. We do offer extensions but cannot do many at once on these vehicles. Customers going back to GM, etc. accounts getting paid off by GM and other dealers due to customers trading in due to so many recalls and problems.

Wow. Xpeng, Buick, BYD are releasing the latest EREV with over 1000 mile range hybrid SUV. Why can't the Big 3 produce something like this? Bring them to the US please. I will buy a few of these awesome EREV for sure.

Looks like Carney is going to roll out the red carpet for Xi, Windsor/Detroit region are going to be absolutely flooded with cheap Chinese EVs. https://share.google/egy4SFCuU94HlwqwG

https://www.thedrive.com/news/let-china-come-in-to-us-auto-industry-trump-says-while-in-detroit-tds

While in Detroit, Michigan speaking to the Detroit Economic Club President Trump said, “If they want to come in and build a plant and hire you and hire your friends and your neighbors, that’s great, I love that,” followed by “let China come in, let Japan come in;” Japanese automakers have auto factories in the U.S. today.

"Farley explained that the newly planned ICE truck will replace the previously promised sub-$30,000 electric pickup truck"
https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a69990477/ford-new-us-built-affordable-internal-combustion-pickup-truck-president-trump-factory-visit/

https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/trump-visit-ford-factory-promote-manufacturing-detroit-129154657

https://www.thestreet.com/automotive/gm-puts-6-billion-price-tag-on-latest-mistake

Can anyone say: More Layoffs/restructuring coming?

Let us all raise a glass to the first recall of 2026! Let the season begin!

https://autos.yahoo.com/safety-and-recalls/articles/ford-recalls-almost-273-000-230000826.html

Shouldn't their super sophisticated automated tests have caught this? I guess they're too busy playing politics to preserve their easy jobs of maintenance and support. There's a lot of money behind this failure.

"Imagine producing an engine so poor that it's led to over 600,000 vehicles being recalled and has been responsible for a dozen crashes and injuries, and you'll be in GM's shoes."

Read More: https://www.slashgear.com/2053136/gm-v8-engine-recall-combined-class-action-lawsuit/

Congratulations everyone on a job well done ! Lets try for 200 in 2026.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/ford-shatters-decade-old-recall-record-152-safety-alerts-issued-year-alone-across-multiple-models

Deadly Ford 'blackout' dashboard glitch prompts $7B recall on entire F-Series model
On some of Ford's newest and most popular pickup trucks, drivers have reported a chilling failure the digital instrument panel suddenly goes dark, leaving them without a speedometer, fuel gauge, or warning lights while still moving in traffic.

Ford is copying what China has been delivered during that last 2 years. 600 to 800 miles range hybrids. Basically, hybrids with large hybrid battery that will provide at least 100 miles instead of 20 miles range. That is good that Ford is learning something good from China.

Everything that Ford announce yesterday is basically they will copy China automotive companies products. Farley's team been in China and they finally realized what they need to do to survive. Seeing what China already produced and successful, Ford will bench mark China.

Ford + Renault partnership for new small EVs in Europe only and the vehicles are schedule to hit the market in 2028. Like the VW partnership for the EV Explorer and Capri really did well. Late to the game in a market already being oversaturated by China.

CE1 is going full bore, Farley did not mention much about the Skunk during the townhall. Maybe his sweater was too tight?

Hybrids an EREVS were mentioned, which is logical.

Does Ford really think they can beat China so late to the race? Verstappen cannot even win this one!

Giving up on CAFE and Bill’s EV wet dreams….

Goodbye, Model e!!!

Rivian is converting a temporary furlough of production staff at its Illinois plant into permanent layoffs for 450 workers. The EV truck maker cited supply chain constraints and a strategic shift to prioritize the production of its newer, lower-cost R2 platform.

December 3, 2025
Automotive News
Dec 3, 2025 - 12:20 PM CST

https://www.autonews.com/manufacturing/rivian-illinois-plant-layoffs-r2-production-shift

Ford batteries does not sustain more than 1 year, after that range of the battery is reduced badly. I bought mustang mach e. Car is good, features all are nice but now battery range went down also, charging time is unbelievably long. Why this happening ? I failed to understand . Why can't they improve the quality in existing cars and more reliability with reduced cost

His email outlined some stricter usage of the internal test vehicles, including reiterating that non-Ford personnel can’t be in the vehicle if any of the software is unreleased.

Anybody hear of why he sent this out of nowhere? I’d imagine someone was misusing the vehicles in Dearborn but we haven’t been given any details. Did someone abuse it? Take their friends to a strip club? Get a DUI?

China’s battery industry has moved solid-state cells from lab slides to factory floors, promising electric cars that can travel roughly twice as far on a charge as today’s mainstream models. Instead of incremental gains, Chinese manufacturers are now talking about 800‑mile ranges, higher energy density, and safer chemistries that could reset expectations for what an everyday EV can do. The shift is still in its early stages, but the first production lines are already signaling that the global race for next‑generation batteries has entered a new phase.

https://www.autoextremist.com

"China much better than John Wayne USA" (or are they?)

“In China, you can buy a heavily discounted ‘used’ electric car that has never, in fact, been used. Chinese automakers, desperate to meet their sales targets in a bitterly competitive market, sell cars to dealerships, which register them as ‘sold,’ even though no actual customer has bought them. Dealers, stuck with officially sold cars, then offload them as ‘used,’ often at low prices."

Sort of...

https://www.youtube.com/live/6jmAVp418uM

Lexus is the #1 as expected. Buick is #2, and you know why? Buick vehicles are designed and built in China, then shipped to the US. This proved that Chinese vehicles are far more better than the American US made vehicles.

According to this >>

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/06/ford-f-150-lightning-ev.html

...if this is true, what a sorry state of affairs Ford has going....so many PD ICE layoffs , other related layoffs, etc....for this outcome?

That's pretty rich given they've kicked so many of deep experience employees to the curb since Hackett decided you didn't need any automotive experience to design and build vehicles. Fast forward, quality is in the tank and NOW they are seeking experience.
https://shorturl.at/w2xd5

Car sales to follow.

Get out now voluntarily while you can.

Not a great news for this new plant in KY.

Change of plan. Ford is pulling out of trying to make the F150 EV that they can't sell. Wall Street liked the announcement and Ford stock is up today. This is good for Ford.

Layoffs will start soon. Great cost reduction plan. Ford already lost $1.4 billions in Q3 for Model E.

Hi Team,
I am writing to share a difficult update.
With the launch of R2 in front of us and the need to profitably scale our business, we have made the very difficult decision to make a number of structural adjustments to our teams. These changes result in a reduction in the size of our team by roughly 4.5%.
These are not changes that were made lightly. With the changing operating backdrop, we had to rethink how we are scaling our go-to-market functions. This news is challenging to hear, and the hard work and contributions of the team members who are leaving are greatly appreciated.
To ensure we move forward with clarity, I want to summarize the areas most impacted.
Streamlining the Customer Journey: To provide a seamless experience for our customers, we are integrating the Vehicle Operations workstreams into the Service organization to create fewer customer handoffs and clearer ownership. We are also integrating the Delivery and Mobile Operations into the Sales organization to ensure the purchase experience is as seamless as possible with a single touchpoint throughout the entire sales process and to delivery.
Elevating Our Marketing Efforts: Historically we have had multiple functions that collectively capture what would typically be housed in a single marketing organization. We have made the decision to form a single marketing organization, and while we recruit our first Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), I will be acting as Interim CMO. Our Marketing Experiences team, led by Denise Cherry, and the Creative Studio team, led by Matt Soldan, will both report directly to me for now.
These changes are being made to ensure we can deliver on our potential by scaling efficiently towards building a healthy and profitable business. I am incredibly confident in R2 and the hard work of our teams to deliver and ramp this incredible product.
Thanks again everyone.
RJ

Rivian Automotive reportedly plans to lay off more than 600 people as the all-electric vehicle maker faces growing market challenges. The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the plans, said the layoffs will affect roughly 4% of the company’s workers.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/23/rivian-layoffs.html

Billy couldn't run the Lions. hand it over too your smarter sibling that edured the criticism and a chorus of boos then brought success to the families football team. Sheila should be CHAIRWOMAN of the board at Ford. Signed--- not BCG.

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and remote start is dead for all cars which have it.

who needs redundant systems?

https://www.businessinsider.com/former-ford-ceo-mark-fields-automaker-invest-ev-consumer-demand-2025-10

Porsche - Stuttgart Germany - https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshmax/2025/10/13/is-porsche-sinking-layoffs-tariffs-and-other-issues-abound/

Porsche faces headwinds despite solid U.S. demand, with 57,099 YTD sales up 5.6 percent and record CPO volumes. Global Q3 deliveries fell about 6 percent, led by China down 20 percent and North America down 5 percent, amid tariffs, a cooled China luxury market, and a bumpy EV shift. Porsche plans to cut 1,900 more jobs by 2029 minus largely via attrition and non renewals minus and has delayed key EV rollouts. The brand remains profitable with strong loyalty, but leadership signals a strategic reset.

Those who thought ivi is safe have big one coming soon, all ivi work will move to Canada except the LL6/ll5 , they have to manage it or leave as well. Big ramp-up is happening on the other side so that’s a reliable news

It's time to get out before the ship sinks.

From the Detroit News:

Ford taps former GM global product lead in leadership change-up

Ford Motor Co. on Friday said it has added a former General Motors Co. executive to lead its product development, among a number of other executive changes.

Jim Baumbick, vice president of advanced product development, cycle planning and program, will lead the strategic direction of Ford Europe as its president starting Nov. 1. Replacing him on Oct. 13 is Sam Basile, GM's former vice president of global product programs.

Additionally, Bryce Currie, vice president of manufacturing for the Americas, takes on an expanded role covering global manufacturing and safety as chief manufacturing officer. Andrew Frick, president of Ford Blue and Model e, also will add luxury brand Lincoln's global retail business to his responsibilities, though Lincoln President Joaquin Nuño-Whelan will continue in his role and report to Frick.

Disruption has been a consistent factor for the automotive industry as of late. A fire at an aluminum plant in New York has rattled the supply chain, especially at Ford, which uses the metal to make the bodies of its best-selling F-Series pickups. U.S. tariffs continue to create uncertainty. The Trump administration's rollback on what the president considered an "EV mandate" could halve electric vehicle sales. Ford is in the midst of a restructuring in Europe as it focuses on its commercial business there.

"These global leadership appointments," Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a statement, "underscore our relentless commitment to building a truly world-class team across Ford, united by a singular focus: delivering product excellence and quality for our customers globally."

Basile last worked at GM in 2023 and since has been in private consulting, according to his LinkedIn. He collected three decades of experience at GM, including globally in China, South Korea and Europe. He'll report to Ford Chief Operating Officer Kumar Galhotra. Baumbick in Europe will work with leaders in the region, oversee product development for that market and and drive cost savings. He'll report to Vice Chair John Lawler.

Ford also shared the retirements of Chuck Gray, vice president of vehicle hardware engineering, and Darren Palmer, vice president of EV programs.

Gray, who contributed to Ford's industrial system, retires Dec. 1. Charles Po-n, director of electrified propulsion engineering, will succeed him, making the transition starting Nov. 1. He'll report to Galhotra.

Palmer was a founding member of Team Edison, which has evolved into the Model e EV division and launched Ford's all-electric models: the Mustang Mach-E SUV, F-150 Lightning pickup and E-Transit commercial van. His retirement takes effect Nov. 1.

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/ford-employees-told-could-fired-093101107.html

So far, most salary employees are still working from home. No one that I know of have been fired. It's a joke with this company.

There are two Ford press releases printed as “news” in today’s Detroit newspaper and when that starts happening there is always either a layoff or bad earnings report on the horizon.

Ford will introduce new EVs in 2027. The technology that Ford puts in these EV are all outdated. They are already being used in China since 2023. Ford is trying to benchmark what the Chinese EV implemented. This is embarrassing.

https://b60.ruckusfactory.com/ford-cuts-1500-from-ev-plantsadmits-market-way-smaller-than-anticipated/

It's about time. Loosing $45,000 for every EV Ford produced is a losing game.