Back in 2023, a downright frightening thing happened while Ford’s (F) CEO, Jim Farley, and CFO John Lawler test drove a Chinese-made electric SUV. But the frightening thing in question only recently emerged as Lawler declared, “Jim, this is like nothing before. These guys are ahead of us.” That startling admission did not hurt Ford’s share price much, however, as shares were up fractionally in the closing minutes of Tuesday’s trading.
The two Ford bigwigs drove in a Changan Automobile electric SUV and were astonished by what they found therein. Changan is part of a joint venture operation with Ford, and both were ultimately impressed by both the smoothness and the comparative silence of the ride. It got worse from there, however; a subsequent trip to China Farley made back in May led to him declaring China’s electric vehicle market an “existential threat.”
Of course, given that Farley made that trip in May, he likely missed the reports of Chinese “electric cars covered in snow (that) are like useless ice sculptures.” With further reports of electric cars getting only “half-range” in the difficult Chinese winter, that may have prompted Farley to reconsider.
A Bigger, Badder Mustang
While Farley may have found Chinese electric vehicles an “existential threat,” he still has a substantial gas-powered arsenal to work with. In fact, one of the newest such vehicles, the Mustang GTD, represents a significant leap forward in terms of capability. The latest reports call it “the fastest Mustang ever,” which, given the Mustang’s history, is impressive by any measure.
The Mustang GTD contains Ford’s new “dry-sump oil system,” which is a first-of-its-kind feature in any Ford vehicle. With the dry-sump system in place, the engine can achieve a maximum rev of 7,650 RPM. In addition, the engine is a 5.2-liter V8 with 815 horsepower and 664 foot-pounds of torque, which actually gives it more horsepower per liter than a Porsche 911 GT3 RS.
Is Ford a Good Stock to Buy Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on F stock based on five Buys, nine Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 5.39% loss in its share price over the past year, the average F price target of $13.67 per share implies 25.47% upside potential.
