Ford Motor

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, in a letter to Ford CEO Jim Farley, voiced serious national security concerns about Ford’s cooperation with battery maker CATL and the companies Geely and BYD. He specifically objected to the reliance on licensed CATL technology at the Marshall plant and to the joint venture with Geely in Spain to produce a crossover-hybrid model from 2028. Duffy also criticized the postponement of moving Lincoln Nautilus production to the U.S. until 2030 and warned against greater integration of subsidized foreign technology into Ford’s supply chains. Ford did not immediately comment; the stock fell about 1% in premarket trading. » More on manager-magazin.de

The U.S. Department of Transportation sent a letter to Ford CEO Jim Farley expressing "profound concern" about Ford's strategic relationships with Chinese companies, notably battery supplier CATL. The letter cites risks to American automotive manufacturing integrity, supply-chain exposure and reliance on technologies of foreign adversaries tied to Ford's licensing of CATL's lithium iron phosphate battery technology and its planned use in energy storage. Ford did not immediately comment. » More on cnbc.com

At the Goldman Sachs conference, Ford announced an integrated service strategy for connected vehicles, aiming to bring products such as BlueCruise and Ford Pro together into a unified connected ecosystem. The company cites 14 million connected vehicles, 1.6 million paying aftermarket subscribers and a blended ARPU of $14 per month; paying BlueCruise subscribers rose 170% to 200,000, and Ford Pro has 900,000 commercial subscribers. Measures include a reorganization of Pro sales, expansion of dealer offerings, the introduction of an AI assistant, a partnership with Apple Maps and a target to scale the combined services business to around $15 billion with 8% growth by the end of the decade. » More on de.investing.com