Ford plans to roll out 7 new EVs in Europe by 2024

KUALA LUMPUR: We recently heard about the EV roadmaps of the Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia and now comes the zero-emissions vehicle strategy from the house of Blue Oval. Yes, Ford is set to expand its EV lineup; it will be rolling out not just one, not two, but a total of seven electric vehicles in Europe over a couple of years. Included in the list are three crossovers and four commercial vehicles that will be joined by the Mustang Mach-E and E-Transit bringing the tally to 9.

Ford has categorised the upcoming EVs into two business units - Ford Model e and Ford Pro incorporating crossovers and commercial vehicles, respectively.

With the launch of new EV models, Ford Europe also aims to hit an annual EV sales target of over 600,000 in the Old Continent and 2 million globally by 2026. Not to forget, the American automaker has pledged to attain carbon neutrality across its vehicle lineup, facilities, logistics, and suppliers by 2035 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. 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,” said Ford president and CEO Jim Farley.

Looking at the teaser of the upcoming Ford EVs, one of them appears as an electric equivalent of the Ford Puma, while the other two crossovers - medium-size & sport look different from the existing ones. The latter two might borrow the VW AG’s MEB platform as per the earlier reports.

When it comes to light commercial vehicles, Ford will introduce the all-new Transit Custom van and Tourneo Custom MPV next year, and the smaller, next-gen Transit Courier van and Tourneo Courier MPV in 2024.

To turn its plans into reality, the American auto giant will invest $2 billion in the Cologne plant in Germany where it will produce 1.2 million electric vehicles throughout six years. The first EV coming out of the new facility next year will be the medium-sized crossover.

Also read: Ford Ranger XLT Plus Special Edition launched in Malaysia