After about four months understanding Ford’s strategy and business operations, President and CEO Jim Hackett and the senior leadership team outlined the company’s plan to improve its operational fitness, re-focus capital allocation, and accelerate the introduction of smart vehicles and services.

“Ford was built on the belief that freedom of movement drives human progress,” said Hackett, who became Ford president and CEO on May 22. “It’s a belief that has always fueled our passion to create great cars and trucks. And today, it drives our commitment to become the world’s most trusted mobility company, designing smart vehicles for a smart world that help people move more safely, confidently and freely.”

Reiterating its long-term goal of an 8 percent automotive operating margin, Ford will embrace technological change and new competition by expanding its scope to include vehicles and services designed around a human-centered experience.

With that, Ford is accelerating the introduction of connected, smart vehicles and services that customers want and value. By 2019, 100 percent of Ford’s new US vehicles will be built with connectivity. For other markets, the goal will be as high as 90 percent by 2020.

At the same time, Ford will be focusing its capital—a huge US$ 7 billion (~ P 356 billion) chunk of it, away from passenger cars and into SUVs and trucks. This includes the all-new Ranger and EcoSport for the North American market as well as Bronco, which Ford has just announced, will be sold globally.

Furthermore, Ford has come up with several ways to cut costs. This includes the reduction of engineering costs by increasing the use of common parts across its full line-up over the next five years as well as the reduction in the number of variants available on each particular model.

In terms of engine technology, Ford is slashing internal combustion engine development by one-third and will instead focus on electrification.

In fact, there’s now a dedicated electrification team within the company building up on the company’s commitment to introduce 13 new electrified vehicles in the next 5 years including: the F-150, Mustang, Transit, an autonomous vehicle, and a fully-electric small SUV.

That said, Ford will continue to leverage partnerships including via mergers and acquisitions to accelerate its research and development. For example, Ford is committed to reduce new vehicle development time by 20 percent.

“When you’re a long-lived company that has had success over multiple decades the decision to change is not easy – culturally or operationally,” Hackett said. “Ultimately, though, we must accept the virtues that brought us success over the past century are really no guarantee of future success. We believe Ford will achieve its competitive advantage by focusing deeply on our customers – whether they’re drivers, riders or cities – and that’s where we are playing to win,” Hackett said.