With the electric car market which has slowed downseveral automakers have announced they wanting to slow down their initial plans linked to BEV models and the farewell to ednothermics. We have seen, for example, advertisements from Mercedes, Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin. It has also been added to the list of manufacturers who are considering partially reviewing the electrification strategy Ford That could decide to continue offering combustion engine models in Europe even after 2030.
In 2021, Ford announced a very ambitious project for the Old Continent, namely to become an electric-only brand by 2030, i.e. 5 years ahead of the 2035 deadline. Since then, however, the market has changed a lot. In fact, now the blue oval house says that it could continue to see endothermic/hybrid models even after 2030 if buyers want them, that is, if there is demand from the market.
Martin Sander, head of Ford in Europe, stresses that if they see strong demand, for example for plug-in hybrid vehicles, they will continue to offer them. The reason, as mentioned, is the slowdown in the electric car market. Sander, in fact, adds that demand for electric cars has been “weaker” than Ford had initially predicted and the company is not meeting its goals.
The Ford manager however underlined that the trajectory towards electrification remains on the table. The company, therefore, will continue to carry out its plans which include the launch of new BEV models and the farewell to some endothermic models.
Ford has completed a roughly $2 billion investment to convert its factory in Cologne, Germany, to build electric vehicles based on Volkswagen Group’s MEB platform. It will begin series production of the new Explorer SUV in Cologne in June and will present a second vehicle built on the MEB platform, also in June.
The new electric Ford Puma will also be revealed by the end of the year. The automaker has also started selling electric versions of its Transit Custom van. At the same time, it began reducing its range of combustion engine cars.
Last year it ended production of the Fiesta in Cologne and in 2025 it will stop production of the Focus in Saarlouis. Some time ago, the automaker already ended production of the Mondeo and Galaxy/S-Max in Valencia, where it currently builds the Kuga. At this plant, Ford is considering introducing an additional model.
