Mercedes Benz : Fords

Showing posts with label Fords. Show all posts

Friday, June 17, 2022

Do Fords last longer than Toyotas?

Toyota vehicles can last up to 250,000 to 300,000 miles with proper maintenance. The best you can get from most Ford vehicles is 200,000 miles, although many well-maintained Fords clock over 300,000 miles on the odometer.Sep. 2, 2020How Long Do Ford Vehicles Usually Last? (7 Important Facts) - Cars

Friday, April 30, 2021

Is Lincoln Ford's luxury brand?

U.S. Lincoln (formally the Lincoln Motor Company) is the luxury vehicle division of American automobile manufacturer Ford. Marketed among the top luxury vehicle brands in the United States for nearly its entire existence, Lincoln has competed closely against its General Motors counterpart Cadillac.Lincoln Motor Company - Wikipedia

Friday, August 31, 2018

Could Tesla follow Ford's leverage strategy?

Now that Elon Musk’s quixotic bid to take Tesla Inc. private is dead, the hand-wringing over when he’ll raise fresh financing has begun anew.?

Musk may insist that he doesn’t need to raise more capital this year but to many on Wall Street, that sounds improbable. And even if it were true, they argue, it’s always best to lock in financing while you can. Who knows what markets will look like -- and, moreover, how they will view Tesla -- a year or two from now.

But how to best tap markets?

With demand for the electric-car maker’s bonds flagging, some have started pointing to the model that Ford Motor Co. deployed during the depths of its financial distress more than a decade ago. The centerpiece to this approach: Putting up assets, including the iconic Blue Oval logo, as collateral for cheap lines of credit. The Ford insignia was valued at $8 billion back then. Interbrand estimates that, given the passion that Tesla drivers have for their cars, the T emblem may already be worth half that just 15 years into its existence.

“Pledge those assets and have that in your back pocket,” said Hitin Anand, an analyst at CreditSights. “It’s prudent to build liquidity.”?

Tesla has no shortage of collateral it could use to back borrowings, analysts say, and would probably consider other assets before it considers mortgaging its brand or forms of intellectual property. Crown jewels include its manufacturing plant in Fremont, Calif., and its mammoth Nevada battery factory. But piling on a new layer of debt risks alienating the company’s existing bondholders, who would be pushed further down in the pecking order for repayment if the company defaults.

Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Joel Levington estimates that $3 billion of new secured debt may cause S&P Global Ratings to downgrade the junk bonds to the CCC range, following a cut by Moody’s Investors Service made earlier this year.

A representative for Tesla declined to comment.

Ford’s loan?

Ford’s 2006 move to pledge its logo and other assets was something of a last resort as the then cash-strapped company faced record losses. The company ultimately secured almost everything it owned -- including inventory, factories, brands and a stake in its auto-finance business -- in exchange for a loan package of more than $23 billion.

The deal ultimately helped the company weather the financial crisis, and it was the only one of the Detroit Three automakers to avoid filing for bankruptcy. The last of the collateral Ford pledged was released in 2012 when a portion of the company’s debt returned to investment-grade ratings.

Tesla’s situation isn’t as dire, according to Levington. Still, it makes sense for the carmaker to raise money now, he said. An extra capital infusion would help quell investor concerns about the company’s cash balances, and give it additional runway at a time when auto sales are falling.

“Getting liquidity now makes a lot of sense," Levington said. “In a backdrop that’s starting to get a little bit weaker -- maybe on its way to being a lot weaker -- not being prepared puts them in a riskier position."

Ambitious plans?

Even if the company does hit its production goals, it still has to contend with more than $1.2 billion of convertible bonds due in November and March. As things stand, the company will have to repay those obligations because its stock is trading below the price at which the bonds can convert into equity. With about $2.2 billion of cash on hand, Tesla will likely need to refinance the debt, analysts say.

The company also has ambitious -- and potentially expensive -- plans for the future, including new factories in Europe and China and plans for a semi truck and a new crossover vehicle.

For now, Tesla has plenty of options. In addition to potentially securing debt, the company could likely issue more convertible bonds, according to CreditSights’s Anand. While the company’s junk bonds have slumped, its convertible notes still trade near or above par.

Even the unsecured junk-bond market is likely still open to Tesla, though the company probably would have to pony up more than the 5.3 percent it paid to issue $1.8 billion of bonds last year. The notes now trade at about 87 cents on the dollar to yield 7.7 percent, but companies including J.C. Penney Co. and BMC Software Inc. have successfully sold bonds with CCC range ratings this year.

“The high-yield market has financed some really dicey stuff,” said Vicki Bryan, founder of Bond Angle, an independent research firm. “There’s more value in Tesla’s existing assets and their promise.”

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Thursday, August 30, 2018

Reader questions Ford's move away from the sedan

TO THE EDITOR:

Sanity prevails. I read "Where cars are still thriving" (autonews.com, Aug. 11), about the future of the sedan, with true appreciation. As an experienced retailer and wholesaler of vehicles, I view Ford turning its back on the sedan as a shortsighted and disappointing strategy.

I believe that those who see this as their chance to take advantage of the vacuum left by Ford, and others who follow suit, will be the winners, and in doing so will keep the sedan alive and well.

Furthermore, I believe Ford's move in this regard will be a mistake similar to not having had a Ranger pickup for the longest time. The Toyota Tacoma and Chevrolet Colorado had a ball while Ford fumbled. Perhaps the right sedan, targeted at the right market, was the solution all along.

HENRI MEISTRE,CEO, Auto Capital Investments, Lewisville, Texas. Auto Capital, of Johannesburg, has held numerous new-vehicle franchises. Its division in Texas sells used vehicles.

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Ford's Steve Biegun appointed as U.S. envoy to North Korea

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. executive Steve Biegun is quitting as vice president of international government affairs to return to Washington, his old stomping ground, where he will be Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's special envoy for North Korea.

The automaker last week also said that its vice president of manufacturing and labor affairs, Bruce Hettle, will retire on Oct. 1. His successor — who will be the chief negotiator during next year's contract talks with the UAW — is Gary Johnson, currently Ford's vice president for North America manufacturing.

Biegun was appointed by Pompeo on Thursday, Aug. 23, to manage negotiations with South Korea over dismantling its nuclear weapons program, and the two plan to travel to Pyongyang this week.

He is the second veteran lobbyist in Washington to leave the automaker. Chief lobbyist Ziad Ojakli exited last month to join Japan's SoftBank Group Corp. and Biegun took over his position. After managing the automaker's international governmental relations for 14 years, Biegun will depart by the end of August.

Curt Magleby, 59, vice president of U.S. government relations, will direct Ford's lobbying efforts on an interim basis and Michael Sheridan, 55, director of global trade strategy and policy, will lead Ford's international government affairs, reporting to Magleby.

Since joining the company in 1988 as a financial analyst for Ford's electronics division, Magleby has worked in numerous capacities around the globe ranging from production superintendent in Mexico to director of ASEAN affairs in Singapore.

Hettle, who has worked in Ford's manufacturing operations for 32 years, took charge of the automaker's global manufacturing footprint and labor affairs in January 2016. He oversaw the launch of the redesigned Super Duty pickups in 2016 and Ford's redesigned full-size SUVs last year.

Johnson, 54, will manage the global operations of 67 plants and oversee engineering for stamping, vehicle and powertrain manufacturing.

Replacements for Johnson and Sheridan will be announced at a future date, Ford told Automotive News.

Biegun, before joining Ford, worked in the White House from 2001 to 2003 as executive secretary of the National Security Council. After that, he was national security adviser to former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee.

Bloomberg contributed to this report.

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