There is “huge potential” in the automaker’s stock.

DETROIT – Ford Motor’s stock price has more than doubled since Jim Farley took over as CEO just under a year ago, and yet he says stocks have ‘absolutely’ more wiggle room when ‘he’s starting to lay the groundwork for a massive recovery plan.

“There is growing confidence that Ford will be one of the winners in this new digital transformation in the industry,” he told CNBC in a telephone interview on Monday shortly before the company did. announces plans to invest $ 11.4 billion in US production of batteries and electric vehicles. “We have a lot of amazing benefits.”

Shares of the automaker closed up 2.8% on Monday at $ 14.16 per share, a 113% increase since Farley became CEO on Oct. 1. The stock rose about 4% during pre-market trading on Tuesday. Still, Farley isn’t happy with the company’s current market valuation of $ 56 billion. It is behind other key competitors, including General Motors at $ 77.5 billion and electric vehicle market leader Tesla at $ 755.5 billion.

Farley said the joint venture with South Korean battery maker SK Innovation is a good example of the company’s ongoing transformation as part of its Ford + turnaround plan that was announced in May. The plan aims to make existing operations profitable and better position the automaker in emerging segments such as data as well as connected, autonomous and electric vehicles.

“I would say this is Ford’s biggest transformation since scaling the Model T,” Farley said. “I don’t think we have yet been fully recognized for our status as a winner in this digital transformation of our industry.”

Farley’s predecessor, Jim Hackett, has come under heavy criticism for not embracing newer technologies such as electric and autonomous vehicles more quickly. He previously said Ford saw “no benefit” in producing its own battery cells.

The investment with SK is in addition to the $ 30 billion the company had previously announced it would invest in electric vehicles until 2025, of which around $ 7 billion had already been invested before February.

Aside from the more difficult pivot to electric vehicles and the turnaround plan, Farley has recruited high-level executives for the automaker, such as former Tesla and Apple executives Doug Field and Mike Amend, who most recently was line president for Lowe’s.

“I’m really proud of our team and I’m especially proud of the team we’ve put together,” said Farley. “We have a lot of great Ford executives and we have amazing new talent in the business.”