Ford Falls Far Behind Tesla and GM in Software
Briefly

Gartner Digital Automaker Index ranks automakers on potential to monetize software, placing Tesla first among 24 manufacturers, GM ninth, Stellantis twelfth, Ford fifteenth, and Toyota twenty-first. Industry experts note legacy automakers struggle to build pervasive automotive operating systems compared with Tesla and leading Chinese EV makers. Ford entered a second phase of EV and manufacturing development after investing $20–$30 billion initially and planning an additional $5 billion, while losing comparable amounts annually in EV operations. Ford has early software efforts, especially in its Pro division, but sells few EVs outside the U.S. and has under 10% market share in America.
"Very few legacy automakers are positioned to compete with Tesla, Rivian or the leading Chinese EV makers when it comes to building a pervasive automotive operation system," Tsuguo Nobe, a former executive at Intel and Nissan, who is now a professor at Nagoya University, told the Financial Times.
Ford recently entered the second phase of building electric vehicles (EVs) and a new manufacturing system. It cannot afford to be so far behind its competition in the software part of the business, which is key to EVs. Ford invested between $20 billion and $30 billion in the first phase of EV development. Its current push will cost another $5 billion. That is about the same as Ford loses annually in its EV operations.
Ford has presented itself as a leader in the next generation of the global car industry. However, it sells very few EVs outside the United States. Its market share in America is less than 10%. Only a tiny fraction of its home market sales are EVs, and its EV sales volume in the first seven months fell compared to last year.
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