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Ford Exec Says Customers Stopped Caring About Powertrains
The ongoing pivot toward large scale EV production has produced some strange bedfellows, namely the Blue Oval’s extensive partnership with Volkswagen. Although the transition hasn’t resulted in a dramatic culling of the automaker’s internal combustion lineup, in the coming years, the company’s offerings may feature engines and transmission from outside companies. That’s based on recent comments from a Ford executive, who suggested that the company may leave powertrain production to other companies.
As first reported by Automotive News, Ford Vice Chair John Lawler spoke at the 2025 Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference about constraints facing automakers that have to finance internal combustion and fully electric vehicle development. Cutting costs is one of the more obvious ways that the company can better position itself against its competitors, and based on his comments, Ford is very likely thinking about moving away from producing engines and transmissions to a model that utilizes powertrains sourced from other companies.
“I think powertrains — ICE powertrains over time are going to need to consolidate, and they’re not going to be differentiated. I don’t think that consumers really think about powertrains the way they did 30 years ago, where it defined what a vehicle was, the horsepower, the displacement, the torque and everything about the vehicle, I think a lot of that is gone. And so does everybody need to develop the next 4-cylinder and 6- cylinder as that arc comes?”
As vice chair, Lawler’s responsibilities include a focus on strategy, partnerships, and alliances, according to the automaker. That he means his comments may preview the Blue Oval’s long term plans to rely on outside companies for engines and transmissions. As for timing, any powertrain production shift would be years away, if the 2023 UAW bargaining agreement’s terms remain unchanged into 2028. Ford is planning to keep producing its 8-speed and 10-speed automatic transmissions for at least another three years, along with its EcoBoost and naturally aspirated V8 engines. Beyond that, the company could take advantage of its current partnerships for future vehicles. As Ford Authority recently reported, Lawler himself said internal combustion engines aren’t going awayanytime soon, so it would have to rely on outsourcing if it planned to move away from homegrown powertrains.
What would a future without Ford powertrains look like? Europe could provide the answer. The VW-based Ford Transit Connect uses Ford EcoBoost and EcoBlue branding throughout its lineup, despite the fact that the powertrains were fully developed by the German automaker. The partnership also enabled Ford to build the Explorer and Capri EVs off the VW MEB platform. Additionally, Ford builds the Ranger-based Amarok pickup and Transit Custom based Transporter for the company, complete with Blue Oval engines and transmissions, so it’s reasonable to assume the company could walk away from producing powertrains for certain vehicle segments in favor of a mixed model.
https://fordauthority.com/2025/06/ford-exec-says-customers-stopped-caring-about-powertrains/
Ford Exec Says Customers Stopped Caring About Powertrains
The ongoing pivot toward large scale EV production has produced some strange bedfellows, namely the Blue Oval’s extensive partnership with Volkswagen. Although the transition hasn’t resulted in a dramatic culling of the automaker’s internal combustion lineup, in the coming years, the company’s offerings may feature engines and transmission from outside companies. That’s based on recent comments from a Ford executive, who suggested that the company may leave powertrain production to other companies.
As first reported by Automotive News, Ford Vice Chair John Lawler spoke at the 2025 Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference about constraints facing automakers that have to finance internal combustion and fully electric vehicle development. Cutting costs is one of the more obvious ways that the company can better position itself against its competitors, and based on his comments, Ford is very likely thinking about moving away from producing engines and transmissions to a model that utilizes powertrains sourced from other companies.
“I think powertrains — ICE powertrains over time are going to need to consolidate, and they’re not going to be differentiated. I don’t think that consumers really think about powertrains the way they did 30 years ago, where it defined what a vehicle was, the horsepower, the displacement, the torque and everything about the vehicle, I think a lot of that is gone. And so does everybody need to develop the next 4-cylinder and 6- cylinder as that arc comes?”
As vice chair, Lawler’s responsibilities include a focus on strategy, partnerships, and alliances, according to the automaker. That he means his comments may preview the Blue Oval’s long term plans to rely on outside companies for engines and transmissions. As for timing, any powertrain production shift would be years away, if the 2023 UAW bargaining agreement’s terms remain unchanged into 2028. Ford is planning to keep producing its 8-speed and 10-speed automatic transmissions for at least another three years, along with its EcoBoost and naturally aspirated V8 engines. Beyond that, the company could take advantage of its current partnerships for future vehicles. As Ford Authority recently reported, Lawler himself said internal combustion engines aren’t going awayanytime soon, so it would have to rely on outsourcing if it planned to move away from homegrown powertrains.
What would a future without Ford powertrains look like? Europe could provide the answer. The VW-based Ford Transit Connect uses Ford EcoBoost and EcoBlue branding throughout its lineup, despite the fact that the powertrains were fully developed by the German automaker. The partnership also enabled Ford to build the Explorer and Capri EVs off the VW MEB platform. Additionally, Ford builds the Ranger-based Amarok pickup and Transit Custom based Transporter for the company, complete with Blue Oval engines and transmissions, so it’s reasonable to assume the company could walk away from producing powertrains for certain vehicle segments in favor of a mixed model.
https://fordauthority.com/2025/06/ford-exec-says-customers-stopped-caring-about-powertrains/
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