Ford is Launching 7 New Connected EVs in Europe, Plans for Annual Sales of 600,000 by 2026

author: Eric Walz   

Ford Motor Company plans to launch seven new electric vehicles in Europe in its push to take a bigger share of Europe's growing commercial and passenger electric vehicle market. The automaker's European plans include a mix of all-new electric and fully-connected passenger vehicles and vans by 2024.

The EV lineup will include three new passenger vehicles and four new commercial vehicles.

Today's announcement follows Ford's creation of a new global business unit dedicated to electric vehicles called "Ford Model e". The new unit of Ford will focus solely on the design, production, and distribution of electric and connected vehicles. 

Combined with Ford's new commercial vehicle business named "Ford Pro", the two new units will support Ford's electric and connected vehicle future in Europe. 

"I am delighted to see the pace of change in Europe – challenging our entire industry to build better, cleaner and more digital vehicles," said Jim Farley, Ford president and CEO. "Ford is all-in and moving fast to meet the demand in Europe and around the globe. This is why we have created Ford Model e – allowing us to move at the speed of a start-up to build electric vehicles that delight and offer connected services unique to Ford and that are built with Ford-grade engineering and safety."

With an entirely new line of battery-powered vehicles, Ford expects its annual sales of EVs in Europe to exceed 600,000 units in 2026. Combined with Ford's other electrification plans, the automaker aims to sell more than 2 million EVs globally by then.

"Our march toward an all-electric future is an absolute necessity for Ford to meet the mobility needs of customers across a transforming Europe," said Stuart Rowley, chair, Ford of Europe. "It's also about the pressing need for greater care of our planet, making a positive contribution to society and reducing emissions in line with the Paris Climate Agreement."

The new EVs for  the European market  will help support Ford's global plans to significantly reduce carbon emissions. The automaker also announced today that it's targeting zero emissions for all vehicle sales in Europe and carbon neutrality across its European footprint of facilities, logistics and suppliers by 2035.

Beginning in 2023, Ford will start production of an all-new electric passenger vehicle, a medium-sized crossover, built in Cologne with a second electric vehicle added to the Cologne production line-up in 2024. 

In addition, Ford will electrify its top-selling passenger vehicles in Europe in 2021, the Ford Puma. The Puma EV will be built at Ford's assembly plant in Craiova, Romania, starting in 2024. Ford says the Puma EV will be available to a wider group of European customers when it goes into production in 2024.

Other new Ford EVs include four new versions of the E-Transit van, including the all-new Transit Custom 1-ton van, Tourneo Custom multi-purpose vehicle in 2023, Transit Courier van and Tourneo Courier multi-purpose vehicle in 2024.

"These new Ford electric vehicles signal what is nothing less than the total transformation of our brand in Europe – a new generation of zero-emission vehicles, optimized for a connected world, offering our customers truly outstanding user experiences," said Rowley.

EV Production and Investment in Cologne

Ford confirmed today that the first volume all-electric passenger vehicle to come out of the Ford Cologne Electrification Center will be a five-seat, medium-sized crossover, which is one of the most popular vehicle segments for Ford.

In 2021, SUV and crossover sales accounted for 58% of all Ford passenger vehicles sold in Europe and have climbed by nearly 20% since 2020 alone.

Ford says its all-electric crossover will be capable of a 500km (310 mile) range on a single charge. The name of the new crossover will be revealed later in 2022, with production starting in 2023.

A second all-electric passenger crossover will also be built at Ford's Cologne Electrification Center. Production of EVs at the facility will increase to 1.2 million vehicles over the next six years and will  include a total investment of $2 billion. The investment includes a new battery assembly facility that's scheduled to start operations in 2024.               

To support Ford's ambitious vehicle electrification plans, the automaker is forming a new battery joint venture in Turkey with South Korean battery manufacturer SK On Co., Ltd. and Turkish investment holding company Koç Holding.

The three companies have signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding for the new joint venture in Turkey. It will create one of the largest EV battery facilities in the European wider region, according to Ford.   

The joint venture would be located near the Turkish city of Ankara and will manufacture high Nickel NMC cells that will be assembled into battery array modules. Production is intended to start as early as mid-decade with an annual capacity likely to be in the range of 30 to 45 Gigawatt hours.

The battery joint venture has support from the Turkish Government and will directly benefit large and small commercial vehicle operators across Europe, while providing a significant contribution to CO2 reduction.

Ford said its assembly plant in Craiova, Romania, will play a significant role in the company's electric and commercial vehicle growth plans throughout Europe.

The all-new Transit Courier and Tourneo Courier will also be produced in Craiova from 2023, with all-electric versions coming in 2024.

To further boost electric and commercial vehicle capacity, Ford announced this morning that Ford Otosan will assume ownership of the Craiova plant and manufacturing business. Ford Otosan, a joint venture between Ford Motor Company and Koç Holding, is one of the longest running and most successful joint ventures in the global auto industry, according to Ford.

"We welcome this opportunity to grow our joint venture with Koc Holding and leverage this strategic partnership to better utilize our resources and know-how in Romania," Rowley said. "Ford Craiova is today a strong success story, and we believe that through Ford Otosan's experience and expertise in electrification and commercial vehicles it can reach even higher levels of achievement."

In total, Ford's European operations include 14 manufacturing facilities, including 10 wholly owned facilities and four joint venture facilities. 

Eric Walz

Originally hailing from New Jersey, Eric is a automotive & technology reporter covering the high-tech industry here in Silicon Valley. He has over 15 years of automotive experience and a bachelors degree in computer science. These skills, combined with technical writing and news reporting, allows him to fully understand and identify new and innovative technologies in the auto industry and beyond. He has worked at Uber on self-driving cars and as a technical writer, helping people to understand and work with technology.