Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/927417
maltatoday WEDNESDAY 17 JANUARY 2018 11 Business Today www.creditinfo.com.mt info@creditinfo.com.mt Tel: 2131 2344 Your Local Partner for Credit Risk Management Solutions Supporting you all the way Ford goes 'all in' on electric cars with $11 billion investment Ford Motor Co. will more than double spending on electrifi ed ve- hicles, amplifying its investment in a segment that the auto indus- try sees growing from what's now just a fraction of the market. The carmaker will shell out $11 billion bringing 40 electrified vehicles to market by 2022, Jim Farley, president of global markets, said during a presentation at the Detroit auto show. That's up from the $4.5 billion that Ford said in late 2015 it would invest through the end of the decade. "This $11 billion you're seeing, that means we're all in now," Executive Chairman Bill Ford told reporters in Detroit. "The only question is will the customers be there with us and we think they will." After electric-vehicle darling Tesla Inc. surpassed Ford in market value last year, the second-largest US automaker replaced then-Chief Executive Officer Mark Fields. His replacement, Jim Hackett, has vowed to cut costs and drop some car models from the line- up to refocus the company's future on sport utility vehicles, trucks and electrification. With battery costs declining rapidly and regulators around the globe cracking down on the internal combustion engine, automakers have been rushing to step up their game with regards to all-electric models. While the segment comprises less that 1% of annual deliveries in the US, global demand is expected to rise as governments phase out gasoline and diesel engines and batteries reach price parity with traditional powertrains. Tougher Standards Ford expects fuel economy and pollution standards to get tougher, "and rightfully so," said Raj Nair, head of Ford's North American operations. "We believe man-made CO2 is contributing to climate change and we've got our part to play," he said. Of the 40 electrified models planned, 16 will be battery- only vehicles. The company identified just one model by name coming in 2020, called the Mach 1, that will be a performance battery-electric SUV. "The real news for me is not just the doubling of investment, it's where we're playing," Farley said as he spoke to reporters. "We're starting to telegraph where we're going to play in electrified business around the world, and that is to electrify iconic nameplates, and it's going to be higher transaction- price vehicles." UK factories on best run since 1997 amid global upswing UK manufacturers posted a seventh consecutive month of expansion in November as sectors from food producers to makers of games and sports equipment increased output. Factory output rose 0.4% from October, the Office for National Statistics said on Jan. 10, while overall industrial production also increased 0.4%, with a drop in temperatures boosting demand for energy. That means the sector, which accounts for 14% of the economy, almost certainly contributed to growth in the final quarter of 2017. Stronger manufacturing was one of the factors cited by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research as it upped its fourth-quarter growth estimate to 0.6% in a report on Jan. 10. That would be the fastest rate in a year. Factories are enjoying the longest run of uninterrupted growth since 1997 thanks to a broad-based global upswing, particularly in the euro area, which buys almost half of British exports. Ten out of 13 manufacturing sectors posted increases in November. A weak spot was carproduction, which plunged by 7.1% - the biggest decline since 2014 - after strong foreign demand in recent months. Separate figures show con- struction output climbed 0.4% in November, and the trade deficit widened to 2.8 billion pounds. Construction Woes The construction sector appears on course to shrink for a third straight quarter after a 1.1% decline in October, leaving industry executives pinning their hopes on budget initiatives announced by Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond to boost home building and get young people onto the property ladder. The economy's performance in 2018 will depend on the dominant services industry, which has come under pressure from inflation-squeezed consumers. Britain is forecast to join Italy and Japan at the bottom of the Group of Seven growth league this year, with an expansion of just 1.4%, Bloomberg surveys show. The trade figures show exports of goods and services rose by 0.6% and imports gained 1.6%. While export volumes have far outstripped imports over the past year, higher import prices caused by the pound's past depreciation are making it hard to reduce the deficit. The goods shortfall, excluding oil and erratic items, stood at 32.7 billion pounds in the three months through November, just 1.5 billion pounds lower than a year earlier. Meanwhile net trade contributed nothing to GDP growth in the third quarter, and may fail to do so again in the fourth. The total deficit will widen unless December sees the shortfall narrow sharply to 763 million pounds. Manufacturing now accounts for 14% of the economy