Latest news with #JohnLawler
The Advertiser
22-06-2025
- Automotive
- The Advertiser
Ford might develop future engines with outside firms, says executive
A senior Ford executive thinks customers no longer separate brands based on their petrol and diesel engines, and this might lead to the automaker developing new engines with suppliers or, maybe, rivals. According to Automotive News John Lawler, Ford's vice chair overseeing strategy, partnerships and alliances, told the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference, "I don't think that consumers really think about powertrains the way they did 30 years ago". He told the conference, "Where [internal combustion engines] defined what a vehicle was — the horsepower, the displacement, the torque and everything about the vehicle — I think a lot of that is gone". Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. Part of this, Mr Lawler believes, is down to electrification, which allows automakers to increase power and torque, while reducing CO2 emissions, with hybrid or plug-in hybrid drivetrains. Mr Lawler posits this might lead automakers, including Ford, to develop next-generation engines with other companies. Doing so would save money that could help them compete with Chinese automakers. According to the vice chair, Ford needs "to be competitive against them not only on speed of development, software capability, electrical architecture capability, but also overall electrification capability". In 2022 Renault merged its Horse drivetrain division with that of Geely's Aurobay in the hopes of attracting customers for its engines and transmissions outside of the two automakers' stable of brands, which include Dacia, Volvo, Zeekr, and Lotus. It should be noted engine and drivetrain sharing between rival automakers, while not the norm, isn't completely unheard of. In the early 2000s Ford developed a V6 turbo-diesel in conjunction with the PSA Group, which was used in a wide variety of vehicles, including Australian Ford Territory, as well as the Citroen C5, Peugeot 407 and 607, and a whole host of Jaguar and Land Rover models. Other times, manufacturers just sign a supply agreement to fill a hole in their drivetrain lineup, such as when Toyota Europe used BMW diesel engines in the 2010s for a number of models, including the RAV4. Small manufacturers often rely exclusively on engines from other car makers, with Lotus, for example, using mills from Rover, Toyota and Mercedes-Benz. Ford is no stranger to collaborating with other car makers in other areas too. It currently shares a number of platforms with the Volkswagen Group, with the Volkswagen Amarok based on the Ford Ranger, and Volkswagen Transporter based on the Ford Transit Custom. Going the other way, the Ford Transit Connect is based on the Volkswagen Caddy, and the European Ford Explorer and Capri EVs are based Volkswagen MEB architecture. Prior to all this, Ford jointly developed a 10-speed automatic transmission for use in full-size pickup trucks with cross-town rival GM. MORE: Everything Ford Content originally sourced from: A senior Ford executive thinks customers no longer separate brands based on their petrol and diesel engines, and this might lead to the automaker developing new engines with suppliers or, maybe, rivals. According to Automotive News John Lawler, Ford's vice chair overseeing strategy, partnerships and alliances, told the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference, "I don't think that consumers really think about powertrains the way they did 30 years ago". He told the conference, "Where [internal combustion engines] defined what a vehicle was — the horsepower, the displacement, the torque and everything about the vehicle — I think a lot of that is gone". Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. Part of this, Mr Lawler believes, is down to electrification, which allows automakers to increase power and torque, while reducing CO2 emissions, with hybrid or plug-in hybrid drivetrains. Mr Lawler posits this might lead automakers, including Ford, to develop next-generation engines with other companies. Doing so would save money that could help them compete with Chinese automakers. According to the vice chair, Ford needs "to be competitive against them not only on speed of development, software capability, electrical architecture capability, but also overall electrification capability". In 2022 Renault merged its Horse drivetrain division with that of Geely's Aurobay in the hopes of attracting customers for its engines and transmissions outside of the two automakers' stable of brands, which include Dacia, Volvo, Zeekr, and Lotus. It should be noted engine and drivetrain sharing between rival automakers, while not the norm, isn't completely unheard of. In the early 2000s Ford developed a V6 turbo-diesel in conjunction with the PSA Group, which was used in a wide variety of vehicles, including Australian Ford Territory, as well as the Citroen C5, Peugeot 407 and 607, and a whole host of Jaguar and Land Rover models. Other times, manufacturers just sign a supply agreement to fill a hole in their drivetrain lineup, such as when Toyota Europe used BMW diesel engines in the 2010s for a number of models, including the RAV4. Small manufacturers often rely exclusively on engines from other car makers, with Lotus, for example, using mills from Rover, Toyota and Mercedes-Benz. Ford is no stranger to collaborating with other car makers in other areas too. It currently shares a number of platforms with the Volkswagen Group, with the Volkswagen Amarok based on the Ford Ranger, and Volkswagen Transporter based on the Ford Transit Custom. Going the other way, the Ford Transit Connect is based on the Volkswagen Caddy, and the European Ford Explorer and Capri EVs are based Volkswagen MEB architecture. Prior to all this, Ford jointly developed a 10-speed automatic transmission for use in full-size pickup trucks with cross-town rival GM. MORE: Everything Ford Content originally sourced from: A senior Ford executive thinks customers no longer separate brands based on their petrol and diesel engines, and this might lead to the automaker developing new engines with suppliers or, maybe, rivals. According to Automotive News John Lawler, Ford's vice chair overseeing strategy, partnerships and alliances, told the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference, "I don't think that consumers really think about powertrains the way they did 30 years ago". He told the conference, "Where [internal combustion engines] defined what a vehicle was — the horsepower, the displacement, the torque and everything about the vehicle — I think a lot of that is gone". Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. Part of this, Mr Lawler believes, is down to electrification, which allows automakers to increase power and torque, while reducing CO2 emissions, with hybrid or plug-in hybrid drivetrains. Mr Lawler posits this might lead automakers, including Ford, to develop next-generation engines with other companies. Doing so would save money that could help them compete with Chinese automakers. According to the vice chair, Ford needs "to be competitive against them not only on speed of development, software capability, electrical architecture capability, but also overall electrification capability". In 2022 Renault merged its Horse drivetrain division with that of Geely's Aurobay in the hopes of attracting customers for its engines and transmissions outside of the two automakers' stable of brands, which include Dacia, Volvo, Zeekr, and Lotus. It should be noted engine and drivetrain sharing between rival automakers, while not the norm, isn't completely unheard of. In the early 2000s Ford developed a V6 turbo-diesel in conjunction with the PSA Group, which was used in a wide variety of vehicles, including Australian Ford Territory, as well as the Citroen C5, Peugeot 407 and 607, and a whole host of Jaguar and Land Rover models. Other times, manufacturers just sign a supply agreement to fill a hole in their drivetrain lineup, such as when Toyota Europe used BMW diesel engines in the 2010s for a number of models, including the RAV4. Small manufacturers often rely exclusively on engines from other car makers, with Lotus, for example, using mills from Rover, Toyota and Mercedes-Benz. Ford is no stranger to collaborating with other car makers in other areas too. It currently shares a number of platforms with the Volkswagen Group, with the Volkswagen Amarok based on the Ford Ranger, and Volkswagen Transporter based on the Ford Transit Custom. Going the other way, the Ford Transit Connect is based on the Volkswagen Caddy, and the European Ford Explorer and Capri EVs are based Volkswagen MEB architecture. Prior to all this, Ford jointly developed a 10-speed automatic transmission for use in full-size pickup trucks with cross-town rival GM. MORE: Everything Ford Content originally sourced from: A senior Ford executive thinks customers no longer separate brands based on their petrol and diesel engines, and this might lead to the automaker developing new engines with suppliers or, maybe, rivals. According to Automotive News John Lawler, Ford's vice chair overseeing strategy, partnerships and alliances, told the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference, "I don't think that consumers really think about powertrains the way they did 30 years ago". He told the conference, "Where [internal combustion engines] defined what a vehicle was — the horsepower, the displacement, the torque and everything about the vehicle — I think a lot of that is gone". Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. Part of this, Mr Lawler believes, is down to electrification, which allows automakers to increase power and torque, while reducing CO2 emissions, with hybrid or plug-in hybrid drivetrains. Mr Lawler posits this might lead automakers, including Ford, to develop next-generation engines with other companies. Doing so would save money that could help them compete with Chinese automakers. According to the vice chair, Ford needs "to be competitive against them not only on speed of development, software capability, electrical architecture capability, but also overall electrification capability". In 2022 Renault merged its Horse drivetrain division with that of Geely's Aurobay in the hopes of attracting customers for its engines and transmissions outside of the two automakers' stable of brands, which include Dacia, Volvo, Zeekr, and Lotus. It should be noted engine and drivetrain sharing between rival automakers, while not the norm, isn't completely unheard of. In the early 2000s Ford developed a V6 turbo-diesel in conjunction with the PSA Group, which was used in a wide variety of vehicles, including Australian Ford Territory, as well as the Citroen C5, Peugeot 407 and 607, and a whole host of Jaguar and Land Rover models. Other times, manufacturers just sign a supply agreement to fill a hole in their drivetrain lineup, such as when Toyota Europe used BMW diesel engines in the 2010s for a number of models, including the RAV4. Small manufacturers often rely exclusively on engines from other car makers, with Lotus, for example, using mills from Rover, Toyota and Mercedes-Benz. Ford is no stranger to collaborating with other car makers in other areas too. It currently shares a number of platforms with the Volkswagen Group, with the Volkswagen Amarok based on the Ford Ranger, and Volkswagen Transporter based on the Ford Transit Custom. Going the other way, the Ford Transit Connect is based on the Volkswagen Caddy, and the European Ford Explorer and Capri EVs are based Volkswagen MEB architecture. Prior to all this, Ford jointly developed a 10-speed automatic transmission for use in full-size pickup trucks with cross-town rival GM. MORE: Everything Ford Content originally sourced from:
7NEWS
21-06-2025
- Automotive
- 7NEWS
Ford might develop future engines with outside firms, says executive
A senior Ford executive thinks customers no longer separate brands based on their petrol and diesel engines, and this might lead to the automaker developing new engines with suppliers or, maybe, rivals. According to Automotive News John Lawler, Ford's vice chair overseeing strategy, partnerships and alliances, told the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference, 'I don't think that consumers really think about powertrains the way they did 30 years ago'. He told the conference, 'Where [internal combustion engines] defined what a vehicle was — the horsepower, the displacement, the torque and everything about the vehicle — I think a lot of that is gone'. Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. Part of this, Mr Lawler believes, is down to electrification, which allows automakers to increase power and torque, while reducing CO2 emissions, with hybrid or plug-in hybrid drivetrains. Mr Lawler posits this might lead automakers, including Ford, to develop next-generation engines with other companies. Doing so would save money that could help them compete with Chinese automakers. According to the vice chair, Ford needs 'to be competitive against them not only on speed of development, software capability, electrical architecture capability, but also overall electrification capability'. In 2022 Renault merged its Horse drivetrain division with that of Geely's Aurobay in the hopes of attracting customers for its engines and transmissions outside of the two automakers' stable of brands, which include Dacia, Volvo, Zeekr, and Lotus. It should be noted engine and drivetrain sharing between rival automakers, while not the norm, isn't completely unheard of. In the early 2000s Ford developed a V6 turbo-diesel in conjunction with the PSA Group, which was used in a wide variety of vehicles, including Australian Ford Territory, as well as the Citroen C5, Peugeot 407 and 607, and a whole host of Jaguar and Land Rover models. Other times, manufacturers just sign a supply agreement to fill a hole in their drivetrain lineup, such as when Toyota Europe used BMW diesel engines in the 2010s for a number of models, including the RAV4. Small manufacturers often rely exclusively on engines from other car makers, with Lotus, for example, using mills from Rover, Toyota and Mercedes-Benz. Ford is no stranger to collaborating with other car makers in other areas too. It currently shares a number of platforms with the Volkswagen Group, with the Volkswagen Amarok based on the Ford Ranger, and Volkswagen Transporter based on the Ford Transit Custom.
Perth Now
21-06-2025
- Automotive
- Perth Now
Ford might develop future engines with outside firms, says executive
A senior Ford executive thinks customers no longer separate brands based on their petrol and diesel engines, and this might lead to the automaker developing new engines with suppliers or, maybe, rivals. According to Automotive News John Lawler, Ford's vice chair overseeing strategy, partnerships and alliances, told the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference, 'I don't think that consumers really think about powertrains the way they did 30 years ago'. He told the conference, 'Where [internal combustion engines] defined what a vehicle was — the horsepower, the displacement, the torque and everything about the vehicle — I think a lot of that is gone'. Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. Supplied Credit: CarExpert Part of this, Mr Lawler believes, is down to electrification, which allows automakers to increase power and torque, while reducing CO2 emissions, with hybrid or plug-in hybrid drivetrains. Mr Lawler posits this might lead automakers, including Ford, to develop next-generation engines with other companies. Doing so would save money that could help them compete with Chinese automakers. According to the vice chair, Ford needs 'to be competitive against them not only on speed of development, software capability, electrical architecture capability, but also overall electrification capability'. In 2022 Renault merged its Horse drivetrain division with that of Geely's Aurobay in the hopes of attracting customers for its engines and transmissions outside of the two automakers' stable of brands, which include Dacia, Volvo, Zeekr, and Lotus. Supplied Credit: CarExpert Supplied Credit: CarExpert It should be noted engine and drivetrain sharing between rival automakers, while not the norm, isn't completely unheard of. In the early 2000s Ford developed a V6 turbo-diesel in conjunction with the PSA Group, which was used in a wide variety of vehicles, including Australian Ford Territory, as well as the Citroen C5, Peugeot 407 and 607, and a whole host of Jaguar and Land Rover models. Other times, manufacturers just sign a supply agreement to fill a hole in their drivetrain lineup, such as when Toyota Europe used BMW diesel engines in the 2010s for a number of models, including the RAV4. Small manufacturers often rely exclusively on engines from other car makers, with Lotus, for example, using mills from Rover, Toyota and Mercedes-Benz. Supplied Credit: CarExpert Supplied Credit: CarExpert Ford is no stranger to collaborating with other car makers in other areas too. It currently shares a number of platforms with the Volkswagen Group, with the Volkswagen Amarok based on the Ford Ranger, and Volkswagen Transporter based on the Ford Transit Custom. Going the other way, the Ford Transit Connect is based on the Volkswagen Caddy, and the European Ford Explorer and Capri EVs are based Volkswagen MEB architecture. Prior to all this, Ford jointly developed a 10-speed automatic transmission for use in full-size pickup trucks with cross-town rival GM. MORE: Everything Ford
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Ford Apparently Doesn't Care About Engines Anymore
Read the full story on The Auto Wire We have bad news for Ford fans: a top executive just said the automaker doesn't care about engines anymore. His justification is that consumers don't care about them, either. And boy, do people have a lot of hot takes about at a recent Bernstein conference, Ford Vice Chair John Lawler shared his controversial thoughts. 'I don't think that consumers really think about powertrains the way they did 30 years ago. Where combustion engines defined what a vehicle was; the horsepower, the displacement, the torque, and everything about the vehicle; I think a lot of that is gone.' As Ford and other Western automakers face the looming threat of Chinese brands which sell vehicles at unbelievably low prices, the Blue Oval and others are looking for every competitive advantage possible. That includes outsourcing engine development and manufacturing to suppliers. In other words, your Ford might have the exact same engine as a Honda or Chevy or Kia. Lawler believes car shoppers won't care. Unfortunately, we think for a portion of the market this is true. For some people, all they care about is when they push the ignition button the car turns on and it goes. They don't know or care about how many cylinders it has, the displacement, or how much power it makes. But there's always been a subset of society that has this kind of attitude. Suddenly, Lawler and others in the industry believe they should cater to them, but really it's a pretense. The real reason isn't because there are consumers who don't care about engines. What it comes down to is automakers are scared spitless they're going to get mowed over by Chinese automakers. Instead of leaning into what they do best and riding out the storm, they're going to try beating the Chinese at their game. It's a dumb move. The thing is your average person who buys a Nissan Rogue or some other beige vehicle doesn't care about the engine, until they do. If the thing is sluggish because it doesn't make much power and they have trouble merging onto the highway, they care. If the engine blows up at 80,000 miles because it was engineered or manufactured poorly, they care. They might not obsess over engine specs like enthusiasts, but there's a reason why Toyota sells so many Camrys: everyone knows they're super reliable and that's largely because of the proprietary engine design. Take that away and what is the Camry? It's revealing how the automotive media is largely agreeing with Lawler, even if begrudgingly because they've all bought into the narrative that electric cars are inevitably the future. That's the other thing driving this move. Automakers want to justify killing off internal combustion engines and taking away resources to further develop them is a wonderful way to do that. But Ford and others can't just turn away from ICE engines. They have to turn public opinion against them, salting the earth for Toyota or anyone else who might try to keep innovating in that space. They want to force the industry into electrification now that EV mandates won't be happening. We hope they fail and miserably so. Long live ICE. Source: Automotive News Image via Ford Join our Newsletter, subscribe to our YouTube page, and follow us on Facebook.
The Drive
17-06-2025
- Automotive
- The Drive
Do Car Buyers Care Which Engine Is Under the Hood? A Ford Exec Doesn't Think So
The latest car news, reviews, and features. The internal combustion engine will eventually die, but not today. The transition to fully battery electric cars hasn't happened anywhere near as swiftly as automakers expected at the start of the decade. Schedules are being postponed, and plans to restart or reinvigorate ICE development and manufacturing have been implemented across the industry. For traditional enthusiasts, it's a stay of execution worth celebrating, though it may come at a cost. Would you sacrifice a variety of gas engines so that they can live on? This was a question effectively posed by Ford Vice Chairman John Lawler recently. 'Where [combustion engines] defined what a vehicle was—the horsepower, the displacement, the torque, and everything about the vehicle—I think a lot of that is gone,' Lawler said at Bernstein's strategic decisions conference, per Automotive News . If the buying public doesn't distinguish between different gas engines at so granular a level, there's arguably an opportunity for engine production to be consolidated. And we all know how much corporations love to join together in the face of rising costs and increased competition. What if engine production in five years looks more like electric powertrain production, where batteries and motors are sourced from a small group of suppliers? That's the future Lawler expects and, as Automotive News rightly points out, is arguably beginning to take shape. Take Renault and Geely's joint venture, annoyingly named 'Horse,' to construct a family of engines shared between their products, including Volvo's. An F-150 is assembled at Ford's plant in Dearborn, Michigan, in April deciding factors for mainstream car shoppers, now and likely going forward, are based on performance and behavior rather than numbers. Robby DeGraff, manager of product and consumer insights at AutoPacific, told The Drive : 'I think a lot of this sentiment entirely depends on the vehicle segment and type. Sports and enthusiast vehicle buyers will prioritize this, eagerly compare specs, and place a higher value on the overall 'feel' of said engine in their performance vehicle because they intentionally want the most engaging experience behind the wheel.' Pickup truck buyers are similarly driven by measurable differences in towing and hauling capabilities, he added. 'But, for your common crossover or sedan buyer, the significance of a vehicle's engine behavior (horsepower, torque, etc.) really isn't as paramount a factor during the shopping process,' DeGraff said. 'Instead, there's more of a focus on common 'wants' like having good acceleration when merging onto a highway, not getting annoyed by loud raspy engine noise, or, as it relates to today's car shopping scene, improved fuel economy gains and hybridization.' Two decades ago, buyers would ask for either a four-cylinder or a six-cylinder engine. Now, you have buyers who ask for ICE, hybrid, or full EV. 'I fully agree with Lawler—with few exceptions (Ford Voodoo, Hellcat, LT7, high-end engines from Ferrari et al.) there is indeed little to differentiate between the vast majority of mainstream engines,' said Sam Abuelsamid, vice president of market research at Telemetry. 'To the average consumer, they aren't going to choose a Ford, Stellantis, or Volkswagen 2.0-liter turbo (same goes for the 1.5 triples, etc.) for the engine,' Abuelsamid continued. 'Other factors are going to be the deciders. I wrote a blog about this a couple of weeks ago, advocating for most ICE development to be consolidated and hybrids to be the default powertrain to reduce the number of variations that need to be developed and certified.' Ram Retreating to ICE simply isn't a feasible long-term strategy, contrary to what you may have heard about the return of the Hemi. Multiple viable powertrain technologies exist today and will continue to share the market for some time. 'How is a company to fund the development of ICE and EV and everything in between for the next decade and beyond?' Abuelsamid asks in his piece. Consolidation between automotive conglomerates is looking like an increasingly attractive solution. For many enthusiasts, particularly those who continue to stew over the way Toyota has teamed up with other automakers to build sports cars in recent years, it's something of a monkey's paw outcome. Would you welcome the continued existence of the internal combustion engine if it meant more of those engines and their underlying technologies would be the same? Is that a worthy compromise, so ICE engines can persist? You've got time to mull that question over, but experts looking to the future would seem to agree: It's probably where we're going. Got tips? Send 'em to tips@
