Ford Motor hired a new global chief marketing officer away from rival Toyota as the automaker contends with a costly and slower-than-expected shift toward electric vehicles, as well as a potential strike by thousands of unionized workers.
Lisa Materazzo succeeds Suzy Deering, who left the Dearborn, Mich.-based company late last year after two years in the role. Materazzo spent nearly 20 years at Toyota during two stints at the Japanese automaker, where she most recently led North American marketing.
Ford and the other Big Three U.S. automakers have struggled to prove they can produce and sell electric vehicles at a profit, rather than simply manufacturing so-called compliance cars to adhere to tightening emissions standards, said Nick Nigro, founder of EV research firm Atlas Public Policy.
In attempting to win a larger portion of the hypercompetitive EV market, Ford is in effect competing with its own traditional combustion engine auto business, whose profits have funded the EV transition as the company attempts to transform existing customers to EV buyers, according to Nigro.
“In some respects, they’re trying to take business away from the combustion side of Ford,” he said.
Ford saw its stock price drop this summer despite raising its full-year guidance thanks in large part to disappointing growth in consumer demand for EVs, said Dan Levy, a senior equity research analyst at Barclays. The company adjusted the estimated fiscal year 2023 losses for its EV division from $3 billion to $4.5 billion in its most recent earnings report.
“While there’s progress in the EV transition, it’s just not going as quickly as some had hoped,” said Levy. “They’re dealing with a difficult path to EV profitability.”
Negotiations between Detroit automakers and the United Auto Workers union could further complicate the positions of Ford and its competitors, since wage increases will force them to absorb higher production costs to avoid raising prices for consumers, said Levy. The workers are widely expected to strike this week, he said.
On the marketing front, Ford has also been working to repair its reputation for producing high-quality products, which powered its ad campaigns in the 1980s and 1990s with the tagline “Quality Is Job 1.” That reputation suffered due to recent incidents such as recalls of traditional combustion vehicles, including the Ford Expedition, as well as the electric Mustang Mach-E. Ford’s most recent ad campaigns continued the “Built Ford Proud” positioning established in 2018.
Using the Mustang brand for the Mach-E was a good marketing strategy for Ford, said Nigro. But the company has struggled to deliver the performance and utility associated with Mustang due to the nascent nature of its EV technology, he said.
“It’s very hard, I think, right now to transition your brand and reputation directly from combustion engines to electric vehicles. It’s not entirely starting over, but it’s pretty close for the customer,” said Nigro.
To accelerate the EV transition, Ford last year announced that it was splitting its business into three divisions: EV-focused Model E, Blue for combustion engines, and Pro, which sells commercial vehicles.
Earlier this year, Ford became the first automaker to sign a deal with Tesla that will give its EV drivers access to Tesla’s network of 12,000 charging stations, known as Superchargers. Ford also responded to Tesla price cuts by slashing prices on its own EV models.
Last month, the company hired former Apple executive Peter Stern to lead its new customer experience division linking hardware, software and online services.
In addition to hiring Materazzo, Ford also named two members of the Ford family to new roles. Elena Ford was promoted from chief customer experience officer to chief dealer engagement officer, where she will oversee the company’s relationship with thousands of dealerships globally. William Clay Ford III, son of Executive Chair Bill Ford, will join the company as general manager of its Performance unit, which produces racing vehicles and models designed for car collectors.
