Ford has announced that every car in its European line-up will feature an EV or plug-in hybrid powertrain by 2026, ahead of the firm switching its entire range of cars to fully electric by 2030.
In an announcement made today, the American carmaker also committed to ensuring that its entire commercial vehicle range would be zero-emissions capable – either through fully electric or plug-in hybrid powertrains – by 2024. It also said that it expects two-thirds of its commercial vehicle sales to be electric or plug-in hybrid by 2030.
It comes as Ford plans to invest ‘at least’ $22 billion (€18.2 billion) in electrification through to 2025 – close to twice what the company had previously planned to invest in electric vehicle development.
Announced today, #Ford goes “all-in” on electric vehicles in Europe; invests $1bn in transforming Cologne facility into an electrification centre. #GoElectric
Read more: https://t.co/WS5vZMcHV8 pic.twitter.com/q8fWBprtyF— Ford News Europe (@FordNewsEurope) February 17, 2021
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Stuart Rowley, president, Ford of Europe, said: “We successfully restructured Ford of Europe and returned to profitability in the fourth quarter of 2020. Now we are charging into an all-electric future in Europe with expressive new vehicles and a world-class connected customer experience.”
“We expect to continue our strong momentum this year in Europe and remain on track to deliver our goal of a six per cent EBIT [earnings before interest and tax] margin as part of Ford’s plan to turnaround our global automotive operations.”
A new $1bn (€830 million) investment in its Cologne, Germany, vehicle assembly facility is at the core of Ford’s plans. The modernisation of this plant will transform the existing vehicle assembly operations into the newly-titled Ford Cologne Electrification Centre, which will be home to the firm’s first European-built electric passenger vehicle. It’s due to start production in 2023, though Ford is already considering the creation of a secondary electric vehicle at the facility.
Rowley added: “Our announcement today to transform our Cologne facility, the home of our operations in Germany for 90 years, is one of the most significant Ford has made in over a generation. It underlines our commitment to Europe and a modern future with electric vehicles at the heart of our strategy for growth.”
