Assignment:
Mini-Case: Ford versus General Motors
The Race to Become All-Electric
Ford's world headquarters in Detroit, Michigan, is only 9 miles from the headquarters of General Motors (GM). Rivalry between the two companies has become especially bitter since Tesla's advances in electric vehicles. Both Ford and GM are shifting their overall strategic plan to become all-electric, perhaps as soon as 2030. The two companies are building their own battery factories and are partnering with technology companies to access digital innovations. Between 2021 and 2025, Ford has pledged to spend $30 billion on electric vehicles. Globally, electric vehicles comprised 9 percent of automobile sales, but only 3.6 percent in the United States, with both numbers increasing rapidly.
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Ford recently out-negotiated GM to garner 12 percent ownership of Rivian Automotive based in Irvine, California. Rivian went public in November 2021 and produces the world's first all-electric pickup truck called the R1T, and a midsize all-electric SUV called the R1S, at its Illinois factory. Ford today has a collaboration partnership with Rivian, but GM is soon to release its own all-electric pickup truck, the GMC Hummer EV Pickup. Whichever firm, Ford or GM, best manages their shift to becoming all-electric will garner huge competitive advantages at a time when gas and diesel vehicles are both companies' bread-and-butter revenue and profit generators.
President Joe Biden's infrastructure package aims to build a national network of electric-vehicle charging stations. The level of government support for electrifying transportation in the United States is higher than ever; even school buses likely soon must be all-electric.
Questions
Identify two external opportunities and threats that you think face Ford and GM. Need Assignment Help?
Pick Ford or GM. Identify two internal strengths and two weaknesses that you think face the firm.
Pick Ford or GM. Identify two strategies that may be good for the firm to pursue given your answers to questions 1 and 2. Use the SWOT framework to develop your two strategies.