Ford will launch seven new electric vehicles in Europe by 2024, with the three-car lineup led by a new crossover using Volkswagen’s MEB platform technology.
Revealing the news, Ford Europe chief Stuart Rowley described the announcement, which includes a net zero target by 2035 as well as a commitment to only sell electric vehicles from that date, as “pivot ” in the nearly 120-year history of the company. . The new vehicles will join the Ford Mustang Mach-E and E-Transit in the company’s all-electric lineup.
The three new electric cars will be sold as part of the new Ford Model e division, created to separate the company’s battery-electric business from the combustion-engine business, now called Ford Blue, as part of a shake-up. of the company. structure initiated by Ford boss Jim Farley earlier this month.
The first car to be launched is expected to be based on the Volkswagen ID 4 and sit below the Ford Mustang Mach-E in the Ford lineup. It will be built at Ford’s new state-of-the-art electric vehicle manufacturing center in Cologne, launched in 2023 and officially described as a “mid-size crossover”.
Ford’s second electric vehicle to be built at the factory will be launched the following year and is described as a “sporty crossover”. This suggests it will be a more performance-oriented coupe derivative of the first car to be launched, potentially based on the Volkswagen ID 5.
Speaking of Volkswagen MEB-derived cars, Rowley added: “Let me assure you that these products will absolutely look like Fords, drive like Fords and the experiences we deliver will provide customers with unique buying and ownership experiences. .”
The cars will be joined in Ford’s all-electric range by the Ford Puma EV, which will be sold as a standalone model from 2024. Following Ford’s production capacity overhaul to achieve this, the Ford EcoSport will cease production later this year.
In addition, four electric utility vehicles will be launched from next year. The one-ton Transit Custom van and Torneo Custom multi-purpose vehicles will go on sale in 2023, followed in 2024 by a new smaller Transit Courier and Torneo Courier multi-purpose vehicle in 2024.
Ford says following the launches, it expects to sell 600,000 electric vehicles a year by 2026, with 1.2 million electric cars manufactured in Cologne over a six-year period. As a result, it is investing an additional £1.5 billion ($2 billion) in plant development.
Additionally, to meet these ambitions, Ford announced a joint venture with SK On Co Ltd and Koc Holding to establish a battery plant in Turkey. This will create “one of the largest commercial vehicle production facilities in Europe”.
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Source: www.autocar.co.uk
This notice was published: 2022-03-14 08:26:39
