In a new business statement released today (17 February), Ford committed to ensure that all passenger vehicles produced and sold in Europe will be either all-electric or plug-in-hybrid with zero-emissions capabilities. Hybrid production will then be phased out through to 2030, after which point only pure electric models will be made.
Ford has committed to invest at least $22bn globally by the end of 2025 to support the transition to electric vehicles (EVs). This sum is around double its EV-specific allocation for the past five years.
One of the first projects to receive a share of this funding will be a major modernisation drive at Ford’s vehicle assembly facility in Cologne, Germany. This is Ford Europe’s largest, central facility. The investment will be used to transform existing assembly lines to produce a fully electric passenger vehicle and train staff accordingly. The new model will begin production at the plant in 2023 and Ford said it will explore the potential to add a second model in the longer-term.
“The decision to make the production and development site in Cologne the e-mobility centre for Ford in Europe is an important signal to the entire workforce,” Ford-Werke’s chairman of the general works council Martin Hennig said.
“It offers a long-term perspective for our employees and at the same time encourages them to help shape this electric future.”
Ford has also set aside funding to create and operate a new collaborative unit with Google. Called Team Upshift, the carmaker says the unit will “drive disruptive, data-driven opportunities”, but further details remain scarce at present.
Ford estimates that the transition will mean that two-thirds of the vehicles it sells globally will be hybrid or fully electric by 2030, significantly reducing its Scope 3 (indirect) emissions.
Jaguar Land Rover
The announcement from Ford comes shortly after Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) unveiled a new business strategy, headlined by a commitment to only sell pure electric Jaguar models from 2025.
Land Rover, meanwhile, will stop producing ICE vehicles for sale in the UK by 2030, in line with the Government’s ban on new petrol and diesel cars, and will stop producing them globally by 2036. Land Rover will also launch six new pure electric cars in the next five years.
Sarah George