Ford has made a big EV announcement for Europe, and the headlining point is a new generation of seven ‘fully-connected’ EVs including passenger vehicles and vans by 2024. This is a significant stride toward an all-electric future in Europe, the Blue Oval says.
This announcement builds on the recent news that Ford has created a new global business unit – Ford Model e – focused on the design, production, and distribution of electric and connected vehicles. Together with Ford Pro, the business unit focused on Ford’s commercial vehicle business, these two business units will ‘define Ford’s future in Europe’.
“I am delighted to see the pace of change in Europe – challenging our entire industry to build better, cleaner and more digital vehicles. Ford is all-in and moving fast to meet the demand in Europe and around the globe. This is why we have created Ford Model e – allowing us to move at the speed of a start-up to build electric vehicles that delight and offer connected services unique to Ford and that are built with Ford-grade engineering and safety,” said Ford president and CEO Jim Farley.
With this new range of electric passenger and commercial vehicles, Ford expects its annual sales of EVs in Europe to exceed 600,000 units in 2026, supporting the overall goal to sell more than two million EVs globally by 2026. The company also announced it is targeting zero emissions for all vehicle sales in Europe and carbon neutrality across its European footprint of facilities, logistics and suppliers by 2035.
On to the new models. The European introduction of the Mach-E and Mach-E GT has already happened, and the E-Transit will debut in the next quarter. The seven new EVs include three passenger vehicles and four commercial vehicles.
Starting next year, Ford will begin production of a new electric passenger vehicle, a medium-sized crossover, built in Cologne with a second EV added to the Cologne production line-up in 2024. In addition, Ford’s top-selling passenger vehicle in Europe, the Puma, will be available as an EV made in Craiova, Romania, starting in 2024.
Ford is Europe’s top-selling CV brand, and the famed Transit range will include four new EVs – the all-new Transit Custom one-tonne van and Tourneo Custom multi-purpose vehicle in 2023, and the smaller, next generation Transit Courier van and Tourneo Courier MPV in 2024.
More on the mystery passenger EVs. In 2021, SUVs and crossovers accounted for 58% of all Ford passenger vehicles sold in the continent, up nearly 20 percentage points from 2020, so naturally, the new models are SUVs.
Ford confirmed that the first volume electric passenger vehicle to come out of the Ford Cologne Electrification Centre will be a five-seat, medium-sized crossover. This EV crossover ‘breaks new boundaries for Ford’ and will have a 500 km range. The car and name will be revealed later this year, with production commencing in 2023.
A second EV – a sports crossover – will also be built at the German plant, meaning that EV production at the facility will increase to 1.2 million vehicles over a six-year timeframe. Investment in the new EVs to be built in Cologne is expected to be US$2 billion. The investment includes a new battery assembly facility scheduled to start operations in 2024.
The other big EV plant for Ford is in Craiova, Romania. Production of the Puma EV will start here in 2024. The new Transit Courier, the popular light commercial vehicle, and Tourneo Courier, a compact MPV, will also be produced in Craiova from 2023, with EV versions coming in 2024. Ford Otosan – a JV between Ford and Koç Holding – will assume ownership of the Craiova plant and manufacturing business.
To support the Blue Oval’s ambitious electrification plans, Ford, Korea’s SK On and Koç Holding have signed a non-binding MoU for a new JV business in Turkey. They plan to create one of the largest EV battery facilities in the European wider region, manufacturing high Nickel NMC cells for assembly into battery array modules. Production is intended to start as early as mid-decade with an annual capacity likely to be in the range of 30 to 45 gigawatt hours.
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