The Blue Oval’s pivot to fully electric vehicles has already resulted in major changes to the company. As Ford Authority previously reported, the automaker has initiated layoffs in North America and Europe in an effort to cut costs. On the product side, long running nameplates have either already been cancelled or are on track to be discontinued, as evidenced by the Ford Fiesta and Ford Focus. According to Reuters, the Ford Saarlouis Assembly plant in Germany responsible for the latter vehicle has attracted a major investor, a potential sign that the company may intend to use the plant for something other than vehicle manufacturing.
Martin Sander, general manger of Ford Model e in Europe, said new agreements had been reached about the future of the plant, which is solely responsible for the Ford Focus. According to the publication, a major international investor for the facility has been found. Previously, reports indicated that about 15 investors had been interested in the plant, with Chinese automaker BYD being repeatedly named as one of the companies looking to acquire or be involved in its operations. At the time, it is unclear what Ford has planned for the facility, but we do know that production of the Focus will end in 2025. Beyond that, Ford had plans to keep the plant open through 2032 in some form. This latest announcement may indicate that the company may reconfigure the campus to supplement its EV production, much like the Cologne Electric Vehicle Center, albeit with a partner this time around.
As Ford Authority previously reported, the company has reduced its manufacturing footprint by selling off plants in India and Brazil. The company’s current plan is to reach a 600,000 annual EV production run rate by 2024 and is targeting a two million EV production run rate for 2026, which will be supplemented by the recently revealed electric Ford Explorer and the Ford E-Transit Courier. It currently anticipates going fully electric in Europe by 2030.
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Comments
Get yer @sses back in Great Britain we can produce your electric or Hydrogen cell I’m backing Britain.
Another example of “American Greed”. Big corporations selling their souls to the Chinese. When will American companies that are selling their assets to China realize they are like a big black hole gobbling up natural resources, land, and any company willing to sell out America. Shame on you Ford. I used to have the “American Dream”, but now have nightmares of a Chinese takeover of the “American way”.