Back in February 2021, the higher-ups at Ford of Europe pompously claimed that Ford's passenger vehicle lineup will be fully electric by 2030 in the EU and the UK. A little over three years later, the Blue Oval's European division has – rather unsurprisingly – backtracked from said promise.
What happened, though? As per Martin Sander, whose current role is head of Ford's passenger car business in Europe, demand for battery-electric vehicles in this part of the world isn't as strong as initially expected. With Ford of Europe not hitting projected targets for BEV sales, one should not be surprised by the American automaker's U-turn.
Sander made it clear that Ford has to manage its way towards 100-percent electric vehicles in Europe by focusing on electrified combustion vehicles. The Kuga Plug-In Hybrid comes to mind, which is Ford of Europe's way of saying Escape Plug-In Hybrid. We also have to remember that Puma, which is the smallest passenger vehicle that Ford sells in the Old Continent, is mild hybrid by default for MY24.
Speaking to Automotive News, the big kahuna of the passenger car business in Europe further notes that combustion-only vehicle sales will be restricted in the United Kingdom to avoid paying ZEV fines. ZEV stands for zero-emission vehicle, and this mandate stipulates that electric vehicles have to make up at least 22 percent of a given automaker's new vehicle sales in the United Kingdom in 2024.
Sander confirmed to Automotive News that Ford has something in store for the Valencia plant in Spain, but he didn't go into detail about it. Based on consumer demand, an electrified vehicle is the only candidate imaginable. At press time, Valencia assembles the Kuga compact SUV. Not that long ago, the S-Max, Galaxy, and the Mondeo (a.k.a. Fusion in North America) were assembled there as well.
Photo: Ford
Over in Germany, the Cologne plant is busy putting together the Ford Explorer EV. Not available stateside, this Explorer is a completely different animal from the mid-size utility vehicle that Ford Motor Company and Ford Changan workers assemble in Chicago and Hangzhou. Think of it as the Volkswagen ID.4 with Ford styling and SYNC infotainment rather than the VW Group's MIB.
The slow-selling Explorer EV will be joined by a smaller electric vehicle in late 2024 for model year 2025. The Puma Gen-E will be manufactured alongside the mild-hybrid Puma at the Ford Otosan Craiova plant in Romania. This facility is also tasked with producing the Transit Courier, passenger-oriented Tourneo Courier, and their electric variants. Just like the Puma, the Courier line is underpinned by the Global B-car platform.
Ford of Europe's electric vehicle lineup further comprises the E-Transit and the Mustang Mach-E. As for electrified vehicles, the list includes the Explorer Plug-In Hybrid and the Focus with the mild-hybrid version of the 1.0-liter EcoBoost three-pot turbo.
The most affordable electrified model for Europe is – of course – the Puma 1.0-liter EcoBoost mild hybrid at 27,400 euros or 29,530 dollars at current exchange rates. By comparison, the all-electric Mustang Mach-E is 55,800 euros or 60,135 bucks.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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