Ford of Europe goes ‘multi-energy’ again

Ford of Europe initially wanted to sell only EVs in Europe by 2030. The US carmaker now says it will continue to offer combustion engine vehicles and hybrids, citing the slowing EV uptake in Europe as the main reason for this.

Marin Gjaja, COO of Ford’s Model E electrification division, spoke to the British magazine Autocar about the carmaker’s plans. According to him, high battery costs and uncertainty surrounding EV legislation and incentive programs make customers rethink electric vehicles. That is why Ford will also focus on hybrid powertrains and keep combustion engines running.

“I don’t think we can go all in on anything until our customers decide they’re all in, and that’s progressing at different rates around the world,” Gjaja told Autocar. “We don’t see that going all-electric by 2030 is a good choice for our business or, especially, all our customers.”

Electrification is the long-term goal

Gjaja stated that electrification was still a long-term goal. The carmaker’s efforts would “end at a highly electrified fleet – maybe ultimately completely electrified if we can get the battery costs and energy density right.”

However, he added: “That’s a destination, and is that ten or thirty years out? I don’t think anyone’s crystal ball is good enough to say.”

Ford initially stated in 2021 that it wanted to sell only EVs in Europe starting in 2030. For commercial vehicles, two-thirds of sales were to be all-electric or plug-in hybrids, a goal that Gjaja now says was “too ambitious”.

Ford opened its Electric Vehicle Centre at its factory in Cologne in June 2023 to do so. It is where the carmaker produces the new all-electric Explorer and, soon, its coupe derivative, Capri. The US company invested two billion dollars in converting the plant for electric car production.

Multi-energy platform

It is not yet clear what will happen with the factory in Valencia, Spain. Gjaja told Autocar that Ford is developing a ‘multi-energy platform’ for European cars. “We’re going to bring something to Valencia, but we haven’t committed to what that will be,” he explained.

“We’re still working on that. I think it’s going to be multi-energy. That’s our current thinking because it gives us the best chance of success given the European market and where we are in adoption.”

Based on the new platform, the first car should roll off the production line in 2027. The annual capacity will be 300,000 units. Autocar speculates it could be a new-generation Kuga, “with that car expected to end its current life cycle around 2026.” However, that has yet to be confirmed by the manufacturer, who stays mute on that subject.