Ranger, Bronco Production Help Michigan Assembly Gain $1B in Earnings
Photo: Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company says that moving Michigan Assembly Plant from producing the less- or not-profitable C-MAX and Focus cars to the all-new Ranger and upcoming Bronco should result in an improvement in operational earnings of more than $1 billion.
“The absolute change in profitability is over $1 billion EBIT and we expect over the long, normal cycle, that to continue to improve,” said Jim Baumbick, vice president, Ford Enterprise Product Line Management. “That’s just an example of other choices that we’re making in the portfolio that are going to unlock additional value.”
More on the Ford Ranger: Overtime added at Michigan Assembly to meet big demand
This reflects an increase from earnings in 2017 to what’s being forecasted for 2021, at which time the Ranger and Bronco will both be at full production capacity. Ford expects to build more than 200,000 vehicles at Michigan Assembly in 2021, which is comparable to the number of cars built at the plant in 2017.
Switching Michigan Assembly Plant from production of the C-MAX and Focus — both of which have since been discontinued in the United States — to the more-profitable truck and SUV was a key factor in Ford’s negotiations with the UAW in 2015. Ford then announced an $850 million investment to convert the plant to meet the manufacturing demands for the Ranger and Bronco, effectively killing the C-MAX and Focus in the process.
Ford has already added “massive overtime” at Michigan Assembly to match demand for the new Ranger. From its launch in January to the close of the first quarter of 2019, Ford has sold 9,421 Ranger pickups in the United States.
Baumbick, who spoke at Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2019 Auto Summit in New York this week, also said that Ford expects its Mustang-inspired BEV and electric F-150 to be profitable from launch and will not push for volume sales over profitability.
Future Fords: Ranger Raptor likely for pickup’s next-generation launch
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