Ford Readies New Truck, SUV & Hybrid Lineup through 2020
More common parts and components
Ford is also moving to flexible vehicle architectures and more common parts across models, cutting new product development time from sketch to dealer showroom by 20 percent.
This is helping Ford achieve its commitment to deliver $4 billion of engineering efficiencies. The company intends to have the most efficient Product Development organization among full-line automakers within five years.
Ford’s five flexible vehicle architectures—body-on-frame, front-wheel-drive unibody, rear-wheel-drive unibody, commercial van unibody and BEV—are paired with module “families” that address the power pack, electrical pack and vehicle configurations.
Seventy percent of each vehicle’s engineering will be driven from this new architecture approach, with 30 percent of content—including grilles, hoods, doors and more—customized for each vehicle.
For instance, as more vehicles become connected, new analytics tools will show which vehicle technologies customers use most often.
This new data-driven insight will help determine which features to grow and invest in and which to eliminate, reducing manufacturing complexity, improving pricing, reducing incentives and building revenue over time.
Simplification is another key aspect of the plan. Ford already has reduced purchasable combinations on Ford SUVs by 80 percent since 2014, including a 97 percent reduction on the new Edge coming later this year.
New manufacturing tools and technologies
Increased use of augmented and virtual reality are helping reduce Ford’s plant changeover time by an estimated 25 percent, which adds an average $50 million to the company’s bottom line per changeover.
Simulating various production processes and assembly line configurations in the virtual world helps identify potentially hazardous maneuvers and fine-tune workflows before construction even begins, saving an estimated 20 percent of tooling cost on each vehicle program.
The company also is increasing its use of collaborative robots that can perform jobs quickly and repetitively, helping reduce the risk of injury to employees, freeing them up for more high-value jobs and improving the company’s bottom line.
“We’re looking at every part of our business, making it more fit and ensuring that every action we take is driven by what will serve our customers in a way that supports our fitness and performance goals,” said Joe Hinrichs, president, Global Operations.
Note: Average showroom age based on Ford internal estimates and Bank of America Merrill Lynch Car Wars 2018-2021 report.
