Ford announced the expansion of its EV range in Europe with the addition of three new crossovers and four new commercial vehicles by 2024, with the goal of exceeding 600,000 annual EV sales in the Old Continent and 2 million EV sales globally by 2026. The automaker has also pledged to achieve carbon neutrality in Europe across its vehicle range, facilities, logistics, and suppliers by 2035. Among the “seven, all-electric, fully-connected passenger vehicles and vans” appearing on the tease with dark silhouettes and LED graphics, we can see an electric version of the Ford Puma, a new medium-size crossover, and a sport crossover that is different from the existing Mustang Mach-E. If previous reports turn out to be true, the latter two could be based on VW Group’s MEB platform.
Ford says that the all-new five-seater
medium-size crossover will debut in 2022 with a 500 km range. Its
production will commence in 2023 at the Ford Cologne Electrification Center in
Germany, where the sports crossover will also be built starting from 2024. As
for the electric variant of the Puma, it will be produced in Craiova, Romania
starting from 2024 alongside its ICE-powered sibling.
On the LCV front, Ford will launch the
electric variants of the new generation Transit / Tourneo Custom in 2023, and
the smaller Transit / Tourneo Courier in 2024 (debuting a year after the
ICE-powered models), expanding the range next to the existing e-Transit
flagship. Note that the new Transit/Tourneo Connect, which is mechanically
related to the VW Caddy, is missing from the chart which means it won’t be
getting an EV variant soon.
Ford wants to produce 1.2 million electric
vehicles throughout a period of six years at the Cologne plant in Germany,
after investing US$ 2 billion – up from the $1 billion investment announced last
year. The medium-sized crossover will be the first EV coming out of the Cologne
Electrification Center in 2023, while a new battery assembly facility will
start operations in 2024. The Craiova plant in Romania will also play a
significant role in EV production, with Ford Otosan JV – a joint venture
between Ford Motor Company and Koç Holding – assuming ownership of the
manufacturing facilities and business in Romania. Among the EVs that will be
produced will be the electric variants of the Transit/Tourneo Courier and the
Puma starting from 2024.
Ford has also signed a “non-binding
memorandum of understanding” with companies SK On CO., Ltd and Koç Holding,
with the support of the Turkish government, to build an LCV battery production
site in Ankara, Turkey. Starting from mid-decade, the new battery plant will
produce “high Nickel NMC cells for assembly into battery array modules” with a
planned annual capacity of 30-45 Gigawatt hours making it one of the largest in
the wider region. As part of the EV offensive, Ford wants to increase the EBIT
margin in Europe to 6 percent by 2026, and globally to 10 percent by 2026. The
news comes soon after the announcement of a new global business unit called
“Ford Model e”, which is “focused on the design, production, and distribution
of electric and connected vehicles”.
