Ford vows to go all-electric in Europe by 2030
It's spending $1 billion to transform its German manufacturing center.
Ford is taking an aggressive approach to its electrification strategy in Europe, announcing that all its passenger vehicles will be all-electric or hybrid by mid-2026. All of its consumer vehicles will be fully electric by 2030, meaning Ford will have one of the most aggressive EV roadmaps of any European automaker. On the commercial side, the company plans to have plug-in hybrid (PHEV) or all-electric vehicles in two-thirds of its lineup by 2030.
As part of that process, Ford will invest $1 billion into its assembly plant in Cologne, Germany, allowing it to produce an all-electric model in two years. That's part of the company's recently announced $29 billion global investment in electric and autonomous vehicles through 2025. "We are charging into an all-electric future in Europe," said Ford of Europe president Stuart Rowley.
We will offer an exceptional range of electrified vehicles, supported by customer-centric digital services and experiences, allowing our customers to come with us on the journey to a fully electric future, starting right now with the launch of the all-electric Mustang Mach-E.
Ford's commitment to EVs leaves it just five years to retool toward electric and PHEV vehicles. Rival (and commercial partner) Volkswagen, meanwhile, has promised to produce 1.5 million EVs by 2025, while Mercedes-Benz has announced plans to build six all-electric cars within the next couple of years.
Ford is leading all rivals in commercial sales, but it fell behind Toyota into ninth place in passenger sales in Europe. And while the company is investing in its Cologne plant, it has cut costs considerably elsewhere in Europe, having sold off factories and eliminated more than 10,000 jobs. On the strength of those cuts and commercial sales, Ford returned to a profit in Europe in Q4.
All that cost-cutting is apparently in its rear-view mirror, however, and Ford called the Cologne facility investment "the most significant Ford has made in over a generation." The company will share additional details, hopefully about new vehicles, over the coming months.
