Ford is opening a whole can of new EVs. In the period from now to 2024, the brand will introduce three new electric cars and four new commercial vehicles. With the exception of two cars, the EVs that are planned are already quite concrete.
With the recent reorganization of Ford, the brand gained two new divisions: Model e and Ford Blue. The first division, Model e, focuses on the development of EVs and will play a leading role in Europe together with the Ford Pro commercial vehicle division. The carmaker is moving forward as Ford today presents a total of seven new EVs for the European market. Three of these are passenger cars, with the electric version of the Puma being the most concrete. The specs for that model are not yet known, Ford has not yet said whether the existing platform will be used or whether the electric version will get a new platform, but judging by the teaser, the appearance of the electric Puma does not appear to be radically different from the current version. It should be on the market in 2024 and it will roll off the production line in Romania.
Earlier than the Puma, Ford is introducing a ‘medium-size crossover’, which will be unveiled at the end of this year and will hit the market in 2023. The medium-size crossover will seat five and Ford confirms it will be on Volkswagen’s MEB platform. According to Ford, the car will have a range of 500 kilometers. It’s hard to say exactly what it will look like, but the shape of the daytime running lights resembles the much larger Ford Explorer. It will be the first model from the Cologne Electrification Center (photo 4), where Ford plans to build 1.2 million EVs over a six-year period, investing a total of €1.8 billion.
The second new EV will be a more sporty oriented model, which Ford is a bit more vague about. This ‘Sport Crossover’ will also be on the MEB platform and is planned for 2024. It is conceivable that this model will bear the Capri name, since Ford redefined that name at the end of last year. Ford of Europe chairman Stuart Rowley declined to comment on the possible return of names from the past. All he said about it was a cryptic ‘watch this space’, suggesting something is up in the air in that regard.
company cars
In addition to the new electric passenger cars, Ford is also making considerable progress when it comes to electric commercial vehicles. Over the next two years, the brand will introduce no fewer than four new electric versions: the Transit Courier, Tourneo Courier, Transit Custom and Tourneo Custom. These commercial vehicles will be placed on Ford’s own electric platform, which Volkswagen will later use for its commercial vehicles. That is part of the deal between the two brands. The electric versions of the Transit and Tourneo can be recognized by a continuous LED strip on the front, where the Courier is completely new. The details of the commercial vehicles are also kept under wraps by Ford.
To provide all those EVs with batteries, Ford is collaborating with the Korean SK and the Turkish Koç Holding to build a new battery factory in Turkey. That battery factory must eventually produce between 30 and 45 GWh of batteries per year for the company cars. The batteries for the passenger cars will be made in Cologne. Furthermore, Ford Otosan, the joint venture between Ford and Koç, will be in charge of the factory in Romania, where the electric Puma and Couriers will roll off the production line in the future. That also demands a sacrifice: Ford will stop production of the EcoSport this fall.
Ford will only supply electric cars in Europe from 2030. The brand is now going one step further, because by 2035 the entire European production chain must be climate neutral. From that year on, Ford no longer makes commercial vehicles with a combustion engine.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl