Bill Ford conversation covers EVs, politics, mobility and what's next for automaker
It was a conversation a few years in the making as Bill Ford and I sat in front of a sold-out audience of 250 folks at the Daxton Hotel in Birmingham as the who’s who of business, politics, education and community organizations gathered to hear what he had to say.
And he did not disappoint: Ford, executive chair of the company started by his great-grandfather, Henry Ford, talked about important issues at the Detroit Free Press Breakfast Club on Wednesday. I had talked to Ford more than a few times about appearing at the high-profile speakers forum, launched in 2018 and featuring influential leaders.
It was the scheduled June 6 reopening of the majestic but shuttered train depot in Detroit as the Michigan Central Station mobility and innovation hub, something Ford has championed for years, which proved to be the catalyst for his appearance.
During our hourlong conversation, he talked about Detroit, EVs, politics, the family business and what’s next.
Ford, who turns 67 on May 3, is celebrating his 25th year as chair of the company which put the Motor City on the map over 100 years ago. He’s a student of history (he just finished Jon Meacham’s book about George H.W. Bush “The Call To Serve: The Life of President George Herbert Walker Bush: A Visual Biography”) but told me he prefers to focus on the future.
Ford enjoys working for the company as much today as when he started in 1979 after graduate school.
His father, William Clay Sr., never encouraged him to join the company. “I asked my Dad why he didn’t bring up my working for the company and he told me it was because I never raised it with him,” he said, with a laugh. His said his dad told him, “Don’t join the company unless you really want to do it. Otherwise, you won’t be doing yourself or the company any good."
Two of his four children with wife Lisa Ford are now working for the automaker: Alexandra Ford English is on Ford’s board and son Will Ford III is general manager of Ford Performance.
“I told them they had to get a degree in business or law and then work elsewhere for a few years before deciding whether to join the company,” Ford said.
Having his daughter on the board does present interesting moments. “She can tell me what I am doing wrong,” he said. Alexandra Ford English was in the audience, as was Lisa Ford.
When the conversation turned to EVs, he lamented the political back and forth that has enveloped the conversion from gas-powered vehicles to electric.
Michigan is a critical state in the presidential election as both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have been here regularly and talked about their positions on EVs. Trump has said Biden’s pro-EV policies will kill auto jobs in Michigan and give China a boost in the battle for EV global supremacy.
The slowdown of EVs has caused issues for all automakers in this country, though that isn’t the case in Europe, Asia and other places, Ford said.
Ford lost billions in 2023 in its EV division and has delayed some spending on EVs, including delaying products like a three-row SUV. Meanwhile, the automaker is putting more focus on hybrid products, Ford said at the event.
“We don't know what the adoption curve of EVs will look like. One thing we know for sure is they are coming. The research shows the people that have them don't want to go back,” Ford said.
He talked about Michigan Central Station, which will have bigger companies and smaller tech firms and, of course, startups. “Companies like Google will be there. Ford is going to be there. This is an open platform. We want everyone to come. We don't want this be a Ford thing,” he said.
Despite COVID-19 and all the changes in the industry, Ford's vision for Michigan Central is coming to life as there are already 90 startups coming there.
He also mentioned vehicle-to-drone testing for delivery and other drone options that will take place at the station. Ford partnered with MDOT Aeronautics to establish the Advanced Aerial Innovation Region in collaboration with Newlab and local startup AirSpace Link.
It’s all intended to lure more young people and businesses to Detroit. The Motor City has something else going for it that places like Silicon Valley don’t. “Other places don’t have people who will work night and day, caring about the community. People love our region, they love Detroit and they want to do everything they can to make it better,” he said.
There were students from Pershing High School in Detroit in the audience. I asked what advice he might share with students and he said: Follow their hearts but also their brains as they figure out their career path.
Wednesday marked the official 60th anniversary of the debut of the Mustang, the iconic pony car which Ford admitted was, “his favorite Ford vehicle” as he talked about how much fun it was to drive.
While models come and go, that won’t be the case with the Mustang, he said, adding, “as long as I’m alive, we’ll make Mustangs.”
Speaking of celebrating the Mustang, Ford headed off to California after the breakfast event to visit Jay Leno on Thursday as the entertainer is a well-known collector with a penchant for iconic American vehicles.
Ford took his favorite Mustang, a 1964 Indy pace car that his uncle, Benson Ford, had driven, on a cruise in Los Angeles with Leno for an upcoming episode of the comedian’s show, "Jay Leno's Garage."
No doubt, Leno was as impressed with that Mustang as he was with Ford, who lives and breathes autos, Detroit and helping the community as few others. I also heard that from numerous folks at the Daxton Hotel as they headed out the door.
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Contact Carol Cain: 248-355-7126 or clcain@cbs.com. She is senior producer/host of “Michigan Matters,” which airs 5:30 a.m. Sundays on CBS Detroit and noon Sundays on Detroit 50 WKBD. See Visit Detroit’s President/CEO Claude Molinari, Alexis Wiley, co-chair of the 2024 Detroit Draft Organizing Committee, CEO Denise Ilitch, Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan Barnett and Political Consultant Susy Avery on this Sunday’s show. "Michigan Matters" can also be found on those stations’ listings on FUBO, Pluto TV, Youtube.com. It is streamed 9 p.m. weeknights.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Bill Ford talks EVs, politics, mobility and what's next for automaker
