Ford EV Timetable for Europe Thrown Out Amid Weak Demand

[ice-capades]

Ford EV Timetable for Europe Thrown Out Amid Weak Demand

https://fordauthority.com/2024/05/ford-ev-timetable-for-europe-thrown-out-amid-weak-demand/

 

It wasn’t too terribly long ago that Ford was investing heavily in all-electric vehicles all across the globe, but its ambitions in Europe were even greater – in fact, the automaker planned to transition its entire passenger vehicle lineup to EVs in that region by 2030 or sooner. However, declining consumer demand has since prompted the automaker to scale back those plans in North America, delaying multiple models, expanding its hybrid offerings, and touting its diverse powertrain offerings in what amounts to a major pivot.

 

 

In Europe, The Blue Oval is set to launch the all-new Ford Explorer EV this summer, but its electrified plans beyond it and another model riding on Volkswagen’s MEB platform remain a bit unclear, and the automaker could pivot to include a new, low-cost platform and perhaps even small cars. Now, somewhat unsurprisingly, Ford is altering its EV timeline in Europe amid weak demand, according to Financial Times.

 

Europe’s Ford Model e head Martin Sander revealed that the automaker will no longer adhere to its 2030 goal in that region, noting that such a target is now “irrelevant” due to the fact that EV sales are currently trending “below expectations.” Sander added that the speed of the transition to EVs ultimately comes “down to the consumer,” adding that FoMoCo plans to focus on hybrids in the short term as part of its pivot.

 

 

“Demand is behind our expectations now and we are not hitting our ambitious targets. Everyone is getting extremely nervous. It’s irrelevant if [the electric vehicle-only date] is going to be in 2030 or 2035. The trajectory is clear. We are committed to zero emissions . . . we just need to be reasonable about it and together find a way to manage to get to net zero in a profitable way,” Sander added.

Edited May 8 by ice-capades
Additional Content

[twintornados]

55 minutes ago, ice-capades said:

....We are committed to zero emissions . . . we just need to be reasonable about it and together find a way to manage to get to net zero in a profitable way,” Sander added.

 

The last line says it all.

[akirby]

2 hours ago, twintornados said:

 

The last line says it all.

Imagine that - companies have to make a profit to stay in business.

[twintornados]

45 minutes ago, akirby said:

Imagine that - companies have to make a profit to stay in business.

 

And?

[akirby]

2 hours ago, twintornados said:

 

And?

I thought you were implying it was a bad thing.  If not then I was agreeing with you. 😎

[twintornados]

14 minutes ago, akirby said:

I thought you were implying it was a bad thing.  If not then I was agreeing with you. 😎

 

No, its a good thing.

[jpd80]

The bigger issue is that European buyers are showing low interest in Ford’s BEV offerings

and of course it will need to pivot to hybrids because there’s no other choice.

 

Ford Europe basically flushed its volume selling ICE vehicles down the toilet because

it was sure that this generation of BEVs was going to be the future of its business 

but the real question now is how quickly can it pivot to what’s needed to survive.

Edited May 13 by jpd80

[AM222]

7 hours ago, jpd80 said:

The bigger issue is that European buyers are showing low interest in Ford’s BEV offerings

and of course it will need to pivot to hybrids because there’s no other choice.

 

Ford Europe basically flushed its volume selling ICE vehicles down the toilet because

it was sure that this generation of BEVs was going to be the future of its business 

but the real question now is how quickly can it pivot to what’s needed to survive.

Ford was just too over-optimistic about BEVs. Decisions were shortsighted with limited room for flexibility unlike its rivals. 
 

Quote

Ford’s electric vehicle unit reported that losses soared in the first quarter to $1.3 billion, or $132,000 for each of the 10,000 vehicles it sold in the first three months of the year, helping to drag down earnings for the company overall.

- Ford just reported a massive loss on every electric vehicle it sold | CNN Business

Ford Europe is halfway into killing the ICE range it needs now. Next up, Focus, followed by the Kuga. 

Ford's volume passenger ICE lineup in Europe after 2025, excluding the niche Mustang and the different size Transit/Tourneo vans.
Ranger
Puma
(possibly the rumored) New EcoSport

Stallantis did the smart thing for its European brands, many of its current generation (2019-onwards) small cars and crossovers were developed to have both ICE and EV versions from the start. Ford waited several years before it announced the Puma would get EV version.

Hyundai Motor Group has a larger range of both ICE & EV models, and most of these are global models. 

I hope Ford sorts out this mess ASAP.

Edited May 13 by AM222

[Oac98]

3 hours ago, AM222 said:

Ford was just too over-optimistic about BEVs. Decisions were shortsighted with limited room for flexibility unlike its rivals. 
 

- Ford just reported a massive loss on every electric vehicle it sold | CNN Business

Ford Europe is halfway into killing the ICE range it needs now. Next up, Focus, followed by the Kuga. 

Ford's volume passenger ICE lineup in Europe after 2025, excluding the niche Mustang and the different size Transit/Tourneo vans.
Ranger
Puma
(possibly the rumored) New EcoSport

Stallantis did the smart thing for its European brands, many of its current generation (2019-onwards) small cars and crossovers were developed to have both ICE and EV versions from the start. Ford waited several years before it announced the Puma would get EV version.

Hyundai Motor Group has a larger range of both ICE & EV models, and most of these are global models. 

I hope Ford sorts out this mess ASAP.

I hope they sort it out sooner than later too as I’m impacted by this! 

[akirby]

5 hours ago, AM222 said:

Ford was just too over-optimistic about BEVs. Decisions were shortsighted with limited room for flexibility unlike its rivals. 
 

- Ford just reported a massive loss on every electric vehicle it sold | CNN Business

Ford Europe is halfway into killing the ICE range it needs now. Next up, Focus, followed by the Kuga. 

Ford's volume passenger ICE lineup in Europe after 2025, excluding the niche Mustang and the different size Transit/Tourneo vans.
Ranger
Puma
(possibly the rumored) New EcoSport

Stallantis did the smart thing for its European brands, many of its current generation (2019-onwards) small cars and crossovers were developed to have both ICE and EV versions from the start. Ford waited several years before it announced the Puma would get EV version.

Hyundai Motor Group has a larger range of both ICE & EV models, and most of these are global models. 

I hope Ford sorts out this mess ASAP.

 

To be fair, Ford Europe has never done well financially prior to last year so it’s hard to argue that losing cars is a problem.

 

And let’s not forget that the EU had every intention of banning ICE vehicles in the very near future so not being aggressive with BEVs was dangerous.  I do agree they should have kept more options open just like with Edge and Nautilus in NA.

 

I still don’t think the Stellantis multi use platform is a good idea.  I think the EV versions will be compromised in design and cost.  It would be better to just keep the existing ICE vehicles while building some new BEVs.

[silvrsvt]

These stupid massive loss articles with Ford EVs are fucking stupid...are they going to start reporting massive profits when all the EV plants are up and running in a few years? Nope.

[AM222]

29 minutes ago, akirby said:

 

To be fair, Ford Europe has never done well financially prior to last year so it’s hard to argue that losing cars is a problem.

 

And let’s not forget that the EU had every intention of banning ICE vehicles in the very near future so not being aggressive with BEVs was dangerous.  I do agree they should have kept more options open just like with Edge and Nautilus in NA.

 

I still don’t think the Stellantis multi use platform is a good idea.  I think the EV versions will be compromised in design and cost.  It would be better to just keep the existing ICE vehicles while building some new BEVs.

Many of their recent models have been duds and lost their crown to rival companies like VW and Stellantis. 
Ford was the optimistic one and announced that in Europe they would be all-EV by 2030, five years earlier than the actual 2035 EU ICE ban.

The Stellantis e-CMP (EV) & CMP (ICE) platform is a smart idea, they've been doing this since 2019. The EV and ICE models can share the same assembly line. Production is more flexible. The upcoming Puma EV is like this too, it just took Ford years to develop one. 

Small car = small battery pack.

[AM222]

31 minutes ago, silvrsvt said:

These stupid massive loss articles with Ford EVs are fucking stupid...are they going to start reporting massive profits when all the EV plants are up and running in a few years? Nope.

They are just reporting what Ford releases. You can't report good news that doesn't exists.
Ford might revive the EcoSport as a modern affordable crossover, that's good news but still a rumor. 

 

Edited May 13 by AM222

[silvrsvt]

8 minutes ago, AM222 said:

They are just reporting what Ford releases. You can't report good news that doesn't exists

 

But its accounting numbers, not actual profit or loss. If Ford was actually losing 100K on each Mach E or Lightning sold, they wouldn't be in business very long. 

 

Model E is "losing" money because the EV assembly and battery plants aren't finished and producing product. The product that is being sold is saddled with those accounting losses, even though they most likely turn or break even in actual unit profit. 

 

Its disingenuous at best and when they come on line, will they actually report the good news?

[akirby]

37 minutes ago, AM222 said:

They are just reporting what Ford releases. You can't report good news that doesn't 
 

No they’re not.  Ford only reports profit/loss and sales volume.  They do not report profit/loss per unit.  People are doing simple math and creating a false conclusion.  Ford lost money regardless of sales volume.  Most of the costs are fixed costs or future investment which have zero to do with lightning and Mach-e production costs.

[AM222]

44 minutes ago, silvrsvt said:

 

But its accounting numbers, not actual profit or loss. If Ford was actually losing 100K on each Mach E or Lightning sold, they wouldn't be in business very long. 

 

Model E is "losing" money because the EV assembly and battery plants aren't finished and producing product.

Another issue is plants and rolling out models. 

I'm not sure how Hyundai Motor Group is able to roll out a range of EVs (under Hyundai and Kia brands) and still have room to build and launch new ICE models. Also noticed Hyundai Motor Group's EV range is mostly made up of global models like most of its ICE range. 

Ford has been relying mostly on North American sales for its EVs. I don't think its doing well outside North America (Europe and China). I think its latest market is Australia (where its priced higher than the Tesla Model Y).

I know there's a new Explorer EV is for Europe, I guess we'll find out soon how that performs.

Edited May 13 by AM222

[DeluxeStang]

3 hours ago, silvrsvt said:

 

But its accounting numbers, not actual profit or loss. If Ford was actually losing 100K on each Mach E or Lightning sold, they wouldn't be in business very long. 

 

Model E is "losing" money because the EV assembly and battery plants aren't finished and producing product. The product that is being sold is saddled with those accounting losses, even though they most likely turn or break even in actual unit profit. 

 

Its disingenuous at best and when they come on line, will they actually report the good news?

Exactly, if Ford spends let's say a billion dollars to build a new EV factory, with the math these geniuses are using, with the first car they sold, the media would be reporting how Ford loses a billion dollars on every EV sold. That's how dumb this is. 

 

Ford's building their factories now, and developing these new platforms. As you and others have stated, those are all expenses Ford has to cover now. They're spending billions on products that won't be ready for years, of course they're gonna be losing money. But that doesn't mean they're losing this insane amount of money on individual EV sales as some are reporting. 

 

We're gonna watch model e go from losing money, to be profitable in the span of 3-5 years once these products start to come out.