Ford CEO Jim Farley gets real about his retirement

Ford conscionable had a beardown Q3, overmuch to the delight of shareholders, who person bid the banal 10% higher since the net were released connected October 23.

But adjacent CEO Jim Farley understands that his 122-year-old institution is successful a precarious position, acknowledgment to the existent economical realities.

• 2024: 2.08 cardinal vehicles sold, +4.2%

• 2023: 1.99 cardinal vehicles sold, +7.1%

• 2022: 1.77 cardinal vehicles sold, -2.2%

• 2021: 1.9 cardinal vehicles sold, -6.8%
  Source: Car Sales Statistics

Farley, 63, described Ford arsenic an "industrial institution successful the mediate of a geopolitical tariff war" with China, the world's largest car market, "going aft straight each occupation successful the automotive manufacture extracurricular of China," successful an interrogation connected the "Office Hours: Business Edition" podcast.

But Farley isn't feeling atrocious for himself. He says the full manufacture is facing the aforesaid issues and that Ford volition stay standing.

Now the question becomes whether Farley is the close antheral for the job. Langley asked Farley astir retirement, prompting him to notation a sports prima from the past.

Ford CEO Jim Farley got reflective during his caller interrogation connected the "Office Hours: Business Edition" podcast.

Host Monica Langley asked Farley astir the authorities of Ford pursuing its third-quarter net release, and helium was frank astir the authorities of the company.

Related: Ford CEO Jim Farley raises alarm, says 'we're successful occupation arsenic a country'

"I judge each of these eras requires a circumstantial benignant of leader, and I deliberation the committee recognized the infinitesimal we were in. When I'm done, we'll each know, and I cognize that this volition beryllium looked connected arsenic 1 of the astir captious periods, if not 1 of the astir awkward periods of Ford's 122-year history," Farley said.

This opened up the interrogation to questions astir the aboriginal and whether Farley sees himself arsenic the idiosyncratic to pb the institution into that caller era, oregon whether helium feels similar he's acceptable to retire.

Farley, an avid racer himself, recalled an interrogation with open-wheel Indy Car racing fable Johnny Rutherford.

According to Farley, the three-time Indianapolis 500 victor said helium knew it was clip to discontinue erstwhile 1 time helium came into the store and helium didn't "sweat each the small details" astir the erstwhile race.

People connected the extracurricular assumed that helium retired owed to a horrific wreck connected the track, but according to Farley, the existent crushed was that helium knew that erstwhile helium stopped sweating those details, "I was not going to beryllium the champion successful the world."

Rutherford came to that realization six months earlier helium really retired.