Ford withdraws its plans for full electrification in Europe by 2030

In February 2021, Ford announced that it will sell only electric passenger cars in Europe from 2030. But slower-than-expected adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) is forcing the company to revise its original plan. Their new strategy does not rule out sales of vehicles with internal combustion engines in the next decade as well, if demand is sufficient.

Speaking at the Financial Times Future of the Car event in London, Ford's managing director for Europe, Martin Sander, said that internal combustion engines could "live on" well into the 2030s: "If we see strong demand, for example for vehicles plug-in hybrid, we will offer them.” Sander acknowledged that demand for EVs is weaker than Ford initially estimated.

In recent years, Ford has been preparing a fully electric line of passenger cars. It surprisingly ended the production of the Mondeo model on April 4, 2022 at the factory in Valencia, Spain. The EcoSport model was withdrawn from the Craiova plant in Romania in December 2022. The company also discontinued the Fiesta model on July 7, 2023 at its location in Cologne, Germany. The S-Max/Galaxy minivan said goodbye in April 2023, when the last examples were produced at the Almussafes factory in Valencia.

Next year, the last Focus will roll off the assembly line in Saarlouis, Germany. Martin Sander already told Autocar at the beginning of this month that the decision to stop production of the Focus model in 2025 is final. Meanwhile, the former star of Ford's range is still available in three body styles: hatchback, sedan and station wagon.

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How does Ford fill these gaps in its devastated European lineup?
A fully electric version of the Puma subcompact crossover will be presented later this year. The Puma Gen-E will be assembled at the company's factory in Craiova, Romania. The all-electric Explorer on Volkswagen's MEB platform will start production in June at the Cologne plant.

The electric SUV was introduced with a delay due to the adoption of the new European standard for electric vehicles (UN Regulation 100.3 / ECE-R 100.3). Ford's second EV on the platform that underpins vehicles such as the VW ID.4 will debut next month. It could be branded ID.5 with a steep rear end and perhaps revive the “Capri” badge.

While rivals are still loyal to traditional vehicles, Ford is taking risks with its aggressive electrification strategy. But with demand for electric cars cooling off, questions are being raised about the wisdom of the move. Consumers looking for gas-powered vehicles still have plenty of competition to choose from. Where does that leave Ford? Although the Puma and Kuga (Escape in the US) are popular products, buyers interested in hatchbacks, sedans and wagons will have to look elsewhere.