Ford is replacing its chief executive Mark Fields amid investor concerns the car company has failed to expand its core auto business while falling behind key rivals in developing autonomous and electric vehicles.
The US car company is expected to announce the move, which was first reported in the New York Times, later today.
Mr Fields, who is 56, is being replaced by Jim Hackett, who looks after Ford’s subsidiary that works on autonomous vehicles.
Mr Hackett, 62, was a long-serving chief executive of Steelcase, the office furniture company, and joined Ford last year as head of its smart mobility unit, which includes driverless technology.
The move comes two weeks after Mr Fields was criticised during the annual shareholders meeting for Ford’s worsening financial results.
During his three years at the wheel, Mr Fields has seen Ford shares drop by 40 per cent.
Last week he announced the company was cutting 1400 jobs. But analysts say on his watch the company has failed to cut costs at its units making trucks and sport utility vehicles.
Ford has invested in autonomous and electric vehicle research but has fallen behind bigger automakers such as General Motors and Tesla , which is bringing a mass market model to market later this year.
At the annual meeting, Mr Fields told shareholders the company was “keeping one foot in the future” with the developments heading autonomous and battery and other alternatives to the traditional internal combustion engine technology.
However, first-quarter profits fell more than 30 per cent and the company has also lost market share in its home market of the US.
(Published by Financial Times - May 22, 2017)