What’s Going on at Ford? A Shakeup That Could Change Everything
A major internal reorganization aims to speed up EVs, cut costs, and rethink how Ford builds cars.
In a statement released on April 15, 2026, Ford Motor Co. announced a significant restructuring of its operations centered around a newly formed business unit it has dubbed Product Creation and Industrialization. The goal of the internal division is to further accelerate vehicle development and improve efficiency as the company shifts toward electric-powered and software-defined vehicles (SDVs).
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It will combine product development, design, engineering, purchasing, and manufacturing into a single organization responsible for the full lifecycle of vehicle creation. The move is intended to streamline decision-making, reduce costs, and shorten development timelines.
New Role for Galhotra
Ford’s chief operating officer Kumar Galhotra will lead the organization, with several senior leaders reporting into the new structure. Among them is Alan Clarke, who will play a key role in overseeing advanced vehicle engineering and development, including the rollout of Ford’s Universal Electric Vehicle Platform (UEV).
COO Kumar Galhotra has held many positions within Ford, including president of Ford Blue, head of Lincoln brand, chief marketing officer, and vice president of engineering.
The reorganization aligns with Ford’s broader Ford+ strategy, which focuses on electrification, connected technologies, and software integration. By bringing software, hardware, and industrial operations closer together, the company aims to scale software-defined vehicles more effectively across its lineup.
Tesla, Apple Veteran Doug Field Departs
The changes are also marking the impending departure of Doug Field, Ford’s former chief EV, digital and design officer, and reflect a shift toward a more unified operating model after several years of internal restructuring. Field joined Ford in 2022, after stints at Tesla and Apple, to lead the company’s shift to SDVs.
Doug Field’s resume includes stints at Segway, Apple, and Tesla, where he helped launch the Model 3.
“I believe Ford now has a winning technology strategy and plan. The first breakthrough product off the Universal EV platform—a mid-size pickup—is on its way to production. We have clearly defined hardware, software, and electrification plans across our full product line. The initial quality of our core technologies is now near the top of the industry. Most importantly, we have incredibly talented teams across these disciplines, ready to carry Ford into the future. I am completely confident in them and so excited to see their work in the coming years,” Field said in the statement.
Alan Clarke, Ford’s new vice president of advanced development products and leader of the UEV platform.
His mention of incredible talent no doubt includes Clarke, who Field hand-picked to join Ford’s UEV team in Long Beach. We interviewed Clarke on our InEVitable podcast, just before he was promoted to his position of vice president of advanced development projects.
Ford said the new organization will support a significant upcoming product cadence, with plans to refresh 80 percent of its North American portfolio and 70 percent of its global portfolio by 2029. The company is preparing to launch new electric and hybrid vehicles alongside updated versions of core models, starting with a new small electric pickup truck, the first vehicle to be built off of the UEV platform and utilizing in-house-built technologies including what it’s billing as the world’s cheapest electric motors.
Overall, the restructuring is designed to better connect product development with manufacturing execution, positioning Ford to respond more quickly to market demands and compete in an industry increasingly defined by electrification, software capabilities, and faster development cycles.
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I used to go kick tires with my dad at local car dealerships. I was the kid quizzing the sales guys on horsepower and 0-60 times, while Dad wandered around undisturbed. When the salesmen finally cornered him, I'd grab as much of the glossy product literature as I could carry. One that still stands out to this day: the beautiful booklet on the Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX that favorably compared it to the Porsches of the era. I would pore over the prose, pictures, specs, trim levels, even the fine print, never once thinking that I might someday be responsible for the asterisked figures "*as tested by Motor Trend magazine." My parents, immigrants from Hong Kong, worked their way from St. Louis, Missouri (where I was born) to sunny Camarillo, California, in the early 1970s. Along the way, Dad managed to get us into some interesting, iconic family vehicles, including a 1973 Super Beetle (first year of the curved windshield!), 1976 Volvo 240, the 1977 Chevrolet Caprice Classic station wagon, and 1984 VW Vanagon. Dad imbued a love of sports cars and fast sedans as well. I remember sitting on the package shelf of his 1981 Mazda RX-7, listening to him explain to my Mom - for Nth time - what made the rotary engine so special. I remember bracing myself for the laggy whoosh of his turbo diesel Mercedes-Benz 300D, and later, his '87 Porsche Turbo. We were a Toyota family in my coming-of-age years. At 15 years and 6 months, I scored 100 percent on my driving license test, behind the wheel of Mom's 1991 Toyota Previa. As a reward, I was handed the keys to my brother's 1986 Celica GT-S. Six months and three speeding tickets later, I was booted off the family insurance policy and into a 1983 Toyota 4x4 (Hilux, baby). It took me through the rest of college and most of my time at USC, where I worked for the Daily Trojan newspaper and graduated with a biology degree and business minor. Cars took a back seat during my stint as a science teacher for Teach for America. I considered a third year of teaching high school science, coaching volleyball, and helping out with the newspaper and yearbook, but after two years of telling teenagers to follow their dreams, when I wasn't following mine, I decided to pursue a career in freelance photography. After starving for 6 months, I was picked up by a tiny tuning magazine in Orange County that was covering "The Fast and the Furious" subculture years before it went mainstream. I went from photographer-for-hire to editor-in-chief in three years, and rewarded myself with a clapped-out 1989 Nissan 240SX. I subsequently picked up a 1985 Toyota Land Cruiser (FJ60) to haul parts and camera gear. Both vehicles took me to a more mainstream car magazine, where I first sipped from the firehose of press cars. Soon after, the Land Cruiser was abandoned. After a short stint there, I became editor-in-chief of the now-defunct Sport Compact Car just after turning 30. My editorial director at the time was some long-haired dude with a funny accent named Angus MacKenzie. After 18 months learning from the best, Angus asked me to join Motor Trend as senior editor. That was in 2007, and I've loved every second ever since.
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