WionDrive News Desk 
Top US automakers General Motors (GM) and Ford have given positive and upbeat outlooks for the US auto market and their profit plans. The top executives of both these companies said that US consumer demand remains strong. GM Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson said that auto sales in March were “looking really strong” after a strong February as incentives come down.
Though the company had assumed a 2-2.5% price reduction but it has not seen any drop in prices this year. “Demand is actually hanging in pretty strong,” Jacobson said. “All in all, a really, really good start to the year and we feel good about where we’re trending,” he added.
On the other hand, Ford Chief Financial Officer John Lawler reaffirmed the company’s outlook for annual core profit of between USD 10 billion and USD 12 billion. “Things are looking pretty good” in the US market, and prices are holding up better than expected, he said. However, demand for electric vehicles is “much lower than the industry expected,” he said. The company has cut production plans for its EV and will “match capacity with demand,” he said.
He said that Ford has a “skunk works” team working on a new, low-cost EV architecture that could provide base for sedans, SUVs and trucks, delivering the interior space of a mid-sized Explorer SUV in a vehicle that is the size of a smaller Escape on the outside. The company’s low-cost EV program has been designed to compete with China’s BYD and Tesla, and is essential to reversing losses in Ford’s EV unit expected at USD 5 billion this year.
He further said that the company’s EV business must eventually “stand on its own” and turn a profit to win more long-term investment. Likewise, GM also had to navigate expenses and headwinds related to its Cruise self-driving unit. “We still see a lot of promise in that business,” Jacobson said.
Earlier this month, Chrysler parent Stellantis said that it would lay off about 400 US salaried workers as it seeks to cut costs, boost efficiency and ramp up its electric-vehicle production plans.
