Doug Field and Alan Clarke Discuss Ford’s New Facility and EV Future at Grow Long Beach

Maximizing EV profitability ranks among Ford’s 2024 corporate objectives, and the company is pursuing that goal through innovation as it moves into its next generation of electric vehicles.  

On Wednesday, Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson hosted Chief EV, Digital and Design Officer Doug Field and Advanced EV Development Director Alan Clarke as part of his annual Grow Long Beach event to discuss Ford’s future in the area. 

Ford is returning to Long Beach after 65 years. The campus, opening early next year, is a key part of our broader strategy to build the best electric vehicle and technology development teams in the world. Our new Product Development Center in Dearborn and Greenfield Labs location in Palo Alto are key locations for this talent, and Long Beach will now create a hub for development of advanced electric vehicle technologies and products.

Afterward, Field shared the following remarks:

Our facility in Long Beach, opening early next year, is a key part of our broader strategy to build the best electric vehicle and technology development teams in the world. Our new Product Development Center in Dearborn and Greenfield Labs location in Palo Alto are key locations for this talent, and Long Beach will now create a hub for development of advanced electric vehicle technologies and products.

Ford is attracting some of the very best design and hardware/software talent in the world, but the magic comes when we combine this with decades of mastery building great products at Ford. Bringing these capabilities together is a challenge, but is the core mission that brought me back to Ford two years ago.

The team coming to Long Beach, first introduced as the “skunkworks” team, is developing vehicles that are as affordable as they are desirable. The skunkworks’ principles for nimble and innovative work will continue, supporting multiple electric vehicles at high volumes. These breakthrough vehicles will bring new customers to Ford and will build an installed base for our aspirations in software and services.

Our current electric vehicles have already established Ford as the No. 2 EV brand in the U.S., and I am proud to have joined the team that developed them.  With our new advanced electric vehicle development team up and running, we have super-compelling, future-generation products moving towards production.  When the time is right, I can’t wait to show them to the world!