Ford's EV & Software Chief Doug Field Exits Amid $19.5B Writedown Fallout

Ford's multibillion-dollar electric vehicle and software strategy is undergoing a major leadership shakeup. Doug Field, the executive recruited from Apple five years ago to helm this critical transformation, is stepping down next month. His departure follows less than five months after Ford announced a massive $19.5 billion writedown on its EV investments and the discontinuation of key models like the F-150 Lightning.

Field will be replaced by Alan Clarke, a former Tesla engineer who currently leads Ford's California-based skunkworks lab. Clarke's new title will be vice president of advanced development projects, and he will retain oversight of the secretive effort to develop Ford's foundational Universal Electric Vehicle (UEV) Platform. This move signals a pivot toward a more engineering-focused, platform-driven approach under a leader with direct experience from Tesla's playbook.

The executive change underscores the intense pressure and scrutiny facing Ford's EV division. The timing, so closely following the historic financial writedown and product cancellations, suggests a strategic recalibration is underway. The promotion of Clarke places the future of Ford's electric architecture in the hands of its internal advanced projects group, raising questions about the pace and direction of the company's next-generation EV plans amidst a challenging market.