Ford is splitting its business between electric, gas vehicles

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Ford Blue and Ford Model E will be separate businesses, but they will both be managed by the same person.

The split was described by the company's executives as how we're going to win as a company and execute Ford's plans for its EV push. The new EV-only unit was not spun off as a special acquisitions company.

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Doug Field is the Ford Model E's chief EV and digital systems officer. He was hired by Ford last fall after working at Apple for several years. He is in charge of product creation at Ford Model E, as well as software and embedded systems across both units.

The new structure will address another issue with many vaporware EV, which is actually selling them to customers. The Model E unit will lead on creating an exciting new shopping, buying and ownership experience for its future electric vehicle customers that includes simple, intuitive e-commerce platforms, transparent pricing and personalized customer support from Ford ambassadors.

Kumar Galhotra will be the president of Ford Blue, while Jim Farley will be the president of the Model E unit. Ford is going to trim $3 billion in costs on its gas-powered side over the next four years, even as it puts a high priority on attracting the best software, engineering, design.

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