FORD CEO JIM FARLEY ON FORD MUSTANG GTD, ADOPTING TESLA'S CHARGING STANDARD, AND SPLITTING THE COMPANY

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Ford CEO Jim Farley discusses the highly anticipated Mustang GTD, a street-legal race car concept inspired by European GT cars, aiming to compete with models like the Porsche 911 GT3 RS. Key technological highlights include an inboard spool valve rear suspension and a dual-element DRS system for enhanced aerodynamics. The GTD will feature a supercharged V8 engine, producing at least 800 horsepower, and is slated for a limited global production run with an estimated price around $300,000. Farley also detailed Ford's strategic adoption of Tesla's North American Charging Standard (NACS), emphasizing customer convenience and the network's reliability. He explained the rationale behind splitting Ford into 'Ford Blue' and 'Ford Model e' divisions to foster innovation in EVs and software-defined vehicles (SDVs). The conversation touched upon the challenges and opportunities in EV adoption, the importance of talent, and Ford's strategy for software monetization through subscriptions and services, particularly focusing on predictive maintenance and semi-autonomous driving features like BlueCruise.