Ford announced Thursday that the car company’s hotly-anticipated electric SUV will be part of the automaker’s most iconic brand.
The battery-powered vehicle — long-teased as a “Mustang-inspired” SUV — will officially join the Mustang line as the Mustang Mach-E.
Ford ($F) is expected to unveil the new vehicle at an event Sunday evening in Los Angeles and will begin accepting orders as soon as the event wraps up.
Today’s announcement is the latest in what’s become a major build-up to the Mach-E’s debut this weekend — an event that itself is kicking off the company’s ambitious $11.5 billion investment in electric vehicles, spearheaded by the Mach-E.
Last month, Ford announced that it was investing in a network of 12,000 charging stations across North America — nearly three times as many as Tesla. Starting with the Mach-E, Ford says it plans to introduce 16 electrified vehicles through 2022.
This is just the latest chapter of the storied muscle car, which first came onto the scene in 1964. But despite the many upgrades and re-designs through the decades, this will be the first time that the Mustang name and famed pony badge will be borne by a vehicle other than a two-door car.
This isn’t the only Ford icon that the company is planning to electrify. In April, the automaker revealed that it was investing $500 million in electric truck maker Rivian, which laid the groundwork for the introduction of an all-electric version of the best-selling vehicle in the U.S. last year: the F-150 pickup truck.
The moves have followed company chairman Bill Ford’s pronouncement in 2018 that his company planned to go “all in” on electric vehicles. Ford, the world’s eighth most valuable automaker last year and the second-largest in the U.S., and Volkswagen, the world’s second most valuable car manufacturer, announced in July that they were teaming up on electric vehicles and self-driving technology. Ford by 2022 plans to introduce 40 hybrid and fully electric vehicles.
The investments are aimed at unseating the current EV industry leaders in the U.S. Tesla occupies a commanding 80 percent of the U.S. electric vehicle market, and General Motors is the only automaker other than Tesla to have sold so many electric vehicles that it’s hit a cap on the EV tax credits that it can claim.
Other automakers, though, may soon catch up: Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot announced a merger that would provide new EV platforms for Fiat Chrysler, the third-largest of the “Big Three” U.S. automakers, behind GM and Ford.
With three days still to go before the big unveiling, Ford’s moves in the electric vehicle space are already having an impact: Credit Suisse is reportedly expecting a sharp drop in Tesla’s share price — largely, the bank says, because of Ford.
The PGA Tour has announced that it will suspend players that are competing in the LIV Golf event that teed off today. At least 17 players, including names like Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, and Sergio Garcia are banned from the PGA Tour competition. Hilary Fordwich, a business analyst and golf expert, joined Cheddar News to discuss why the PGA had to go this route. This is a threat to the future of golf for them, and there's been many contentions about them not being fair and that this is vindictive," she said. "Don't forget, of course, they represent sort of a monopoly in the history of golf. So you've got two sides to this story. You've got those the purists, those that feel that golf should only be a certain way and that there are only these limited events that the PGA puts on. And then you've got other people who are saying … this is all about money"
Facebook parent Meta officially has changed it’s ticker symbol from ‘FB’ to ‘META’. Paul Meeks, a portfolio manager, Independent Solutions Wealth Management, and a professor of practice in the Baker School of Business at The Citadel, joined Cheddar News to discuss why the tech giant has had to make big changes to its name, its ticker, and its business plans. "When you see what's happening in digital advertising — and there was a slowdown there even before the threat of a recession, which could cause a even more drastic slowdown next year — they had to pivot," he said. Meeks noted he sees Facebook dominating in the metaverse space going forward — whatever that may end up being.
Sports merchandising company Fanatics announced it will be making trading cards featuring college athletes, a deal made possible by the NCAA's change to NIL rules for its players. Anchors Kristen Scholer and Ken Buffa break down the deal for Cheddar.
Catching you up on today’s top business headlines with household wealth falling in Q1 for the first time in two years, Meta officially changing its ticker symbol from ‘FB’ to ‘META’, and updates on Tesla.
The European Union has approved a 40 percent quota for women to sit on company boards. This comes as only 9 of the 27 EU member states have gender equality legislation.
Amanda Victoria, co-founder and CEO of Siponey, joins Cheddar News to talk about the company's canned cocktails. The spritz is made with only four ingredients — wildflower honey, aged rye whiskey, sparkling water, and fresh lemon juice.
Officials and power operators are bracing the public for blackouts caused by higher-than-average temperatures this summer. Utility officials in California and Arizona are warning of potential interruptions this summer due to the strain on energy supplies. Heat waves and drought conditions weaken power grids and available electricity reserves. This also makes hydroelectric power less reliable and raises the risk of wildfires.
Cisco DeVries, CEO of OhmConnect, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
