Ford Motor Company this week announced major changes to how it will share its financial reporting, as well has how it will steer its EV business, Ford Model e, to profitability after losing $2.1 billion on EVs in 2022 alone. At face value, there would appear to be absolutely nothing in this for enthusiasts of the Mustang, the F-150, or SUVs like the Bronco – which are all part of the company’s profitable ICE division, also known as Ford Blue. While that’s mostly true, there was a big indicator on what sort of exciting future product Ford Blue will come out with next. And it’s likely to be the expansion of both the Tremor and Raptor variants, according to company CFO John Lawler. This is likely to mean something like a Ford Expedition Raptor, or Ford Expedition Tremor. The USA also awaits the launch of the new Ranger pickup truck, which is also expected to offer Tremor and Raptor variants.
“Ford Blue, when you look at that, we still think it’s a growth business… we’ve pared out the unprofitable vehicles. We now have our core iconic vehicles,” said Ford Motor Company CFO John Lawler while answering a question from Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Delaney. “We see growth in there through derivative strategies. We’ve got Raptors, we’ve got Tremors, etc. and there’s a lot more to come in that space. Low capital investment, very good margins, so that’s the play for us in Blue.”
The Ford Expedition Timberline. Image copyright Manoli Katakis, Muscle Cars & Trucks
Curious spy photos of Ford Expedition prototypes depicting a taller ride height, bigger off-road tires, and a widened stance has set the rumor mill abuzz. And these remarks from the Ford CFO seem to all but confirm that the Tremor and Raptor nameplates are headed to the brand’s largest SUV, which shares lots of commonality with the F-150 pickup truck already.
At the moment, the most off-road capable Ford Expedition is the Timberline (pictured: above), but a future product hint may have been given in the Expedition Timberline Off Grid Concept (pictured: top, bottom) that was built for the 2021 Overland Expo East show.
Lawler also said that we won’t see a “proliferation of nameplates” and that Ford will play in spaces where they can offer a “differentiated and unique product.” Indeed, a Ford Expedition Raptor, or even a Tremor, would be such a product. There really isn’t another three-row full-size SUV that would match up with it directly, save for the Toyota Land Cruiser. Except Toyota discontinued the vehicle here in the States, selling the new “J300” Land Cruiser in select markets like Kuwait, the UAE and Australia.
This means that the large off-road SUV segment in the land where we love SUVs the most is ripe for the taking, and Ford – building its reputation as a phenomenal off-road brand – seems to know this. That’s unless Jeep has anything to say about it with the Wagoneer, or if Chevrolet wants to do more with the Tahoe Z71.
