Ford CFO John Lawler and Linda Zhang, chief engineer of the company's All Electric F-150 Lightning, participate in the opening ceremony at the New York Stock Exchange on April 28, 2022.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
Ford engine on Friday named the electric vehicle startup's former chief financial officer Lucid to replace its current chief financial officer, who is being promoted to closely oversee the company's ongoing turnaround plan, the company said in a news release.
Former Lucid executive Sherry House will join Ford for the first time as vice president of finance in early June. In that role, she will work to transition to the CFO role in early 2025, according to the release.
Meanwhile, current CFO John Lawler will continue in his role and expand his role to become vice president.
Lawler has been CFO since October 2020. During this time, he helped build the company's Ford+ turnaround plan to make Ford more efficient and profitable as the company worked to expand current operations and invest billions in vehicles. electrical.
Ford has faced years of inflated warranty costs, including $1.9 billion in 2023. The company said last year it has an annual disadvantage of between $7 billion and $8 billion compared to traditional rivals due to warranty costs. production, quality problems and other operational inefficiencies.
The move comes as Ford intensifies its focus on electric vehicles. The automaker's U.S. sales rose 10.5% in February 2024 compared to February 2023 sales, thanks to increases in its sales of all-hybrid and all-electric vehicles. The results included an 81% increase in all-electric vehicles.
“Make no mistake, electric vehicles are coming, electric vehicles are part of the future,” Lawler told CNBC in February.
Still, the unit is not yet profitable. As part of its 2024 guidance, first released in February, Ford said it expected its electric vehicle business to lose between $5 billion and $5.5 billion this year.
House served as CFO of Lucid Motors for nearly three years until last December. During that time, the company went public, began producing and delivering its luxury electric vehicles, and opened manufacturing plants in the United States and Saudi Arabia. He has also played roles in Alphabet-self-driving technology company backed by Waymo and General Motors.
“Sherry adds an important dimension of leadership to Ford as we urgently build a profitable electric vehicle business, generate new and recurring revenue streams, and create a more dynamic and resilient company,” Ford Chairman and CEO Jim Farley said in a statement. the notice.
Ford reorganized its operations in 2022, splitting electric vehicles and legacy cars into two separate units to optimize the growing electric vehicle business and maximize profits.
