Jim Farley’s swift approval of partnership left VW execs wondering if he was joking, showing stark contrast in speed of decision-making
11 hours ago
- Ford’s CEO has revealed that he approved a multi-million dollar business deal with Volkswagen in just 15 minutes.
- The German company thought Jim Farley was joking because it took two months to come to the same conclusion.
- The joint venture between Ford and Volkswagen produces the Explorer and Capri electric vehicles based on the Volkswagen ID.4, as well as a Transit van built by Ford Transit.
Large multinational companies are not known for their ability to make quick decisions. But some companies are moving faster than others, with Ford boss Jim Farley revealing he signed off on a joint project with Volkswagen within 15 minutes that took the German company two months. Get approval.
Farley extolled the virtues of working for a family-owned company at the Automotive News Conference in Detroit, where he explained how Ford and Volkswagen are working together to share platforms for a range of new electric vehicles and commercial vehicles.
MORE: Ford boss shocked after secret Chinese EV test drive – ‘They’re ahead of us!’
It took VW two months to get the joint venture back on track as it had to get the votes of the Piech and Porsche families, as well as the German state of Lower Saxony and unions, automotive news Farley reported at the meeting.
But in stark contrast, it took Farley just 15 minutes to push the button, because all he had to do was walk a short distance to the office of Bill Ford, the automaker’s chairman and great-grandson of founder Henry. Bill Ford also thought the partnership made solid business sense, so after talking to several other Ford executives, Farley grabbed his still-warm phone and broke the good news to the masses.
“We’re ready,” Dearborn’s CEO told his German counterpart. But before the time had passed, the Volkswagen suit wasn’t sure whether to believe him, apparently asking Farley: “Are you kidding me?”
The deal, signed in June 2020, gives Ford access to Volkswagen’s ID.4 electric vehicle platform, which is already used to produce the European-market Explorer SUV and Capri crossover, which go on sale this year. In return, Volkswagen is able to build the T7 Transporter (pictured below) and Caravelle using Ford’s Transit architecture.
“We all feel like we’re working for more than just profit,” Farley told attendees, noting that Bill Ford’s children now work for the automaker, meaning the Ford family is in its sixth generation.
“We want to ensure that this family can thrive for another six generations,” he added. “For me personally, it adds tremendous meaning to my work.”
Leave a Reply Cancel reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.