Ford Motor Co.’s top electric vehicle executive — whose arrival at the automaker was heralded as a “watershed moment” — is leaving the company as part of a sweeping reorganization to merge its EV and manufacturing operations.
Doug Field, 61, said Wednesday he’s stepping down from his position as chief EV, digital and design officer to pursue undefined opportunities sharing what he’s learned from his career at Ford, Apple Inc. and Tesla Inc. Ford said Field’s duties will be assumed by Chief Operating Officer Kumar Galhotra.
The move continues Ford’s EV overhaul, which includes $19.5 billion in charges on underperforming EV assets as the US market for battery-powered vehicles fails to materialize. The new organization at Ford will create what the company called an end-to-end approach that takes a vehicle from conception to mass production. Next year, Ford is launching a $30,000 electric pickup truck that it says will be competitive with the kinds of low-cost, high-tech EVs that Chinese manufacturers have been churning out.
“This organization is really, in my mind, the moment that the modern Ford has emerged,” Jim Farley, Ford’s chief executive officer, told reporters on a call Wednesday. Field’s team “is ready for the next phase at Ford and Doug is ready for the next phase of his life.”
Ford hired Field away from Apple in 2021 — a move that was considered a coup for the automaker at the time and a key part of its plan to convince investors it could compete with Tesla and others on electric vehicles and technology. Prior to Apple, Field was senior vice president of engineering at Elon Musk’s company, where he led development of Tesla’s Model 3 sedan.
“I’ve had the gift of working with incredible people, amazing companies and being there during times of great disruption,” Field told reporters. “I want to find the best ways to share that with as many people as possible.”
Farley said combining product creation with manufacturing operations will be key to Ford’s goal of achieving an 8% margin on earnings before interest and taxes by 2029. Last year, that margin was 3.6%.
The automaker said it’s undertaking a “massive” overhaul which will include refreshing 80% of its North American vehicles, by sales volume, by 2029. This includes its top-selling F-Series line of pickup trucks.
“This is really the heart and soul, over the next couple years, of our transformation,” Farley said of the new models.
As part of the reorganization, Alan Clarke, a former Tesla executive now leading efforts in California to design Ford’s electric pickup, was named vice president of advanced development projects.
Ford’s shares slipped 1.3% at 4:40 p.m in extended New York trading. The stock has declined about 3% this year.
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