Ford Motor Co. (F) Business Update Call
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Corrected Transcript 24-Apr-2019 Ford Motor Co. (F) Business Update Call Total Pages: 12 1-877-FACTSET www.callstreet.com Copyright © 2001-2019 FactSet CallStreet, LLC Ford Motor Co. (F) Corrected Transcript Business Update Call 24-Apr-2019 CORPORATE PARTICIPANTS RJ Scaringe Joseph R. Hinrichs Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Rivian Automotive, Inc. President-Global Operation & Executive Vice President, Ford Motor Co. James P. Hackett President, Chief Executive Officer & Director, Ford Motor Co. ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... OTHER PARTICIPANTS David Tamberrino Matthew DeBord Analyst, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC Senior Correspondent, Business Insider John Murphy Tom Krisher Analyst, Bank of America Merrill Lynch Auto Writer, The Associated Press Brian A. Johnson Keith Naughton Analyst, Barclays Capital, Inc. Reporter, Bloomberg LP ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION SECTION [Abrupt Start] ... last year's shareholders meeting. And so electric is a key component of that in all ways and Ford doesn't have to go all-electric for that to work because the customers [ph] will have (0:15) one choice. So this is a key component in completing the portfolio for us. And this just fits perfect in terms of where we wanted to head. And we're undaunted by the news that people, the way they have switched to electric. Part of the issues, as we talked to next-generation buyers, they really are interested in this propulsion. The infrastructure system that has to be built out in North America will reduce some of the anxiety that people have. So this is going to happen. I hate to say that I'm guaranteeing anything like that, but it's just the kind of thing that the tipping point approaches and if you wait too long, you can't recover. So, Ford's going to be in a great position as this evolves. I'm going to let RJ talk about the exclusivity and Joe I think maybe manufacturing. ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... RJ Scaringe Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Rivian Automotive, Inc. A Sure. So, as we think about building – as I think about building Rivian and growing our organization, one of the things we spent a lot of time on over the last 12 months is thinking about the strategic partners that we'd really like 2 1-877-FACTSET www.callstreet.com Copyright © 2001-2019 FactSet CallStreet, LLC Ford Motor Co. (F) Corrected Transcript Business Update Call 24-Apr-2019 to bring into the business. And over the course of the last year, we've engaged in a variety of discussions with automotive OEMs, with technology companies. And what you're now seeing is a result of those discussions. Of course, we announced our Amazon relationship a couple of months back and that's a very important relationship for us in terms of some of the things we're doing around the customer-facing activity and also applications of some of our technology. But just as important is bringing in an OEM partner, an OEM partner that has manufacturing expertise, supply chain expertise and the ability to actually use our skateboard. So, with that, could there be other applications on our platform down the road with other companies? Certainly. But at this point, that's not what we're looking at and not what we're focused on. We're very much focused on the relationships that we've now built, launching our own products, and making sure our eyes and our focus are on execution. With regards to production, the question was asked around the production capacity of our plant at Normal, the capacity is about 250,000 units and, with that, that will be capable of producing not only our first two vehicles but subsequent variants on our platform. And in this facility, we'll also be producing, of course, the key components within our skateboard. And then the last question, which Jim touched on a bit and it's an important one, is what's happening within the premium or aspirational space with regards to electrification. And this actually in many ways sits at the core of the discussion we're having here today and we feel that it's really important that customers have multiple options and different flavors, if you will, different interpretations of what a vehicle can be, different sets of decisions coming together to provide these different vehicle perspectives. And of course, the perspective and the flavor that Rivian as a brand is providing focuses on activities, adventure, essentially vehicles that can carry your pets, your gear, your stuff, your family very comfortably anywhere you'd like to go. But there's other applications and other marketing brand positions we'd like our technology be applied with and that's some of the things you're going to be seeing coming from this relationship. So, broadly though, what's important is to make sure that we provide customers with more options and more choice, and that drives towards this beautifully aligned goal that we have with Bill, Jim and his team around getting more sustainable options on the road as quickly as possible. ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Q Great. Thanks, everybody. ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Operator: Your next question comes from the line of David Tamberrino with Goldman Sachs. ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... David Tamberrino Analyst, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC Q Yeah. Great. Good morning. Jim, Joe, just a question for you. How much savings does Ford think it can achieve versus maybe $1 billion to $2 billion typically needed to bring a new vehicle to market as a result of this partnership? ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... James P. Hackett President, Chief Executive Officer & Director, Ford Motor Co. A 3 1-877-FACTSET www.callstreet.com Copyright © 2001-2019 FactSet CallStreet, LLC Ford Motor Co. (F) Corrected Transcript Business Update Call 24-Apr-2019 Well, David, good morning. We're not going to obviously announce or discuss any details, but we do see significant opportunity both in terms of cost but also in terms of speed. One of the great benefits you get from working with a start-up company like Rivian and with RJ personally is the opportunity to go faster. So, speed is an important part of this. But certainly we believe that by leveraging a skateboard that's already been developed and has a lot of capability, we can go faster and we can save money on the product program, but we'll save those specifics for ourselves I think. ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... David Tamberrino Analyst, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC Q Okay. And then maybe just as the second question, are you planning on replicating the production of that skateboard or will that be built out in the Rivian facility then shipped to wherever you'll be manufacturing your vehicle off that skateboard? ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... James P. Hackett President, Chief Executive Officer & Director, Ford Motor Co. A The skateboard will be produced by Rivian. As RJ said, they have a lot of capacity in Normal and that's their plan is to leverage that capacity to bring scale to their platform. We're not discussing today where our vehicle will be manufactured and how we'll manufacture it, but the skateboard will be produced by Rivian. ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... David Tamberrino Analyst, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC Q Okay. And then just lastly, would that be a North America-specific platform or potentially global? .....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................