Ford, VW embark on media drives in bid to tackle Tesla in the US
The CEOs of Ford and Volkswagen have made a series of high-profile media appearances this month, in a bid to position their respective brands at the heart of the electric vehicle conversation; each executive pushing a desire to rival Tesla at its own game.
Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess made an appearance on 60 Minutes on the weekend, where he discussed the brand’s American strategy. Ford CEO Jim Farley, meanwhile , was recently profiled by the New York Times, and this month featured on the covers of Newsweek and Bloomberg Businessweek, respectively.
The former crowned Farley Executive of the Year, including him on its list of the automotive world’s ‘greatest disruptors’. Other winners included Hyundai executive chair Euisun Chung (Visionary of the Year) and Nissan’s Alfonso Albaisa (Designer of the Year).
One of the central topics of each Diess and Farley feature was how the two motoring juggernauts plan to beat Tesla in the electric vehicle space. The Bloomberg Businessweek cover even featured the coverline ‘Hey Elon, this is a truck’ in large text, atop an image of Farley at the wheel of the new Ford F-150 Lightning.
In his 60 Minutes interview, Diess conceded that Volkswagen’s reputation among customers in the US needs to be improved, noting that the brand’s North American offering isn’t tailored enough to the market.
“We lost ground here in the US. I think we didn’t take the US customer seriously enough. No? We tried to sell the European product here in the US,” he said.
“This is such an important market. And there always have been discussions, although internally, ‘Shouldn’t we give up the US. because we are losing money? We are going nowhere.’ […] We have to come back in the US. We have to become relevant in the US.”
Diess discussed the brand’s switch to electric vehicles, teasing that a fully electric pick-up could be heading America’s way one day (the marque has never sold the Amarok in the US) before touching on the brand’s pursuit of Tesla.
“We are second worldwide. Tesla is quite ahead currently, and they’re growing fast, I have to admit. He is taking more risks than we can. He’s now building a plant in Berlin. It’s 200 kilometers from our plant and I think it’s very healthy for us to have a new competitor,” he said.
60 Minutes interviewer Lesley Stahl noted that Volkswagen workers have criticised Diess for “setting up” Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk as the “benchmark”. “Yeah, actually, you’re right. They don’t like it,” Diess laughed in response.
The featured on Farley, meanwhile, centred most around Ford’s upcoming F-150 Lightning and around what Farley has done to mobilise Ford’s electrification strategy.
“It’s all part of Farley’s larger plan, perhaps the ultimate disruption in the industry,” said Newsweek. “To change how autos are seen, from ‘just cars’ to digital products, without losing their historical identity. It’s not about technology for technology’s sake but rather purpose-driven, and a shift to electric cars is central to the strategy.”
“The traditional auto industry is pretty far behind Tesla,” said Earl J. Hesterberg, chief executive of Group 1 Automotive and friend to Farley told the New York Times for its feature on the Ford CEO. “In the past, if you were behind by a few years, the big players could catch up. But today, the speed of change is so much greater.”
The Times article even notes that Farley is treated like a celebrity by assembly line workers; the reporter stating that “workers waved and shouted greetings and sought selfies with the boss” while they walked through the Dearborn Truck Plant.
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