In the U.S., Ford recently shifted gears and dialed back some planned EV investments, delaying the launch of select models while it pivots to smaller, cheaper all-electric vehicles riding on a low-cost platform. Additionally, The Blue Oval announced that it will offer a hybrid version of every model in the ICE-focused Ford Blue lineup by 2030, all of which are moves being made to compensate for declining demand for EVs and booming hybrid sales. Meanwhile, Ford Europe Model e head Martin Sander recently announced that the division was ditching its own 2030 deadline to transform its entire passenger vehicle lineup to EVs, and now, it seems as if it will continue to sell hybrid and gas-powered vehicles for the foreseeable future, according to Automotive News.
“If we see strong demand, for instance for plug-in hybrid vehicles, we will offer them,” Sander said, noting that Ford Europe could even continue to sell internal combustion-powered vehicles well into the 2030s, if consumers are still buying them. “We just have to manage our way towards 100 percent electric drivetrains,” Sander added, essentially echoing recent remarks from chairman Bill Ford, who said that consumers are dictating the pace of EV adoption.
Currently, plug-in hybrids are incredibly popular in Europe, where Ford sells one of the best selling such vehicles – the Kuga PHEV, which was actually the number one best-selling plug-in vehicle throughout the course of 2023, and it has remained near the top of the charts in the first few months of 2024 as well.
As far as what sort of EVs we might see added to the Ford Europe lineup in the future, well, that subject is a bit more murky at the moment. Martin recently admitted that the company was looking at using its own low-cost EV platform in the future – which will be utilized in the U.S. as well – and even said that FoMoCo could turn back to small cars in that region as well.
We’ll have more on Ford’s future EV plans soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for continuous Ford news coverage.
Comments
Thank you to the leadership at Ford! Common sense and freedom of choice remain at this company.
Finally some sense
“Strong demand for plug in hybrid”. How many plug in hybrid Ford vehicles exist in North America other than the Escape anf Li ncoln Corsair? Both vehicles with the dated and puny 3.3kW on board charger.
In the UK, under the ZEV Mandate, 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans sold in Great Britain must be zero emission by 2030. This percentage will increase to 100% by 2035. In the first year of implementation, 2024, each qualifying brand must ensure that 22% of their new car sales are zero-emissions vehicles. Failure to meet this target will result in a penalty of £15,000 per non-compliant car. However, there are options for manufacturers to mitigate the fines, such as purchasing credits from other manufacturers who have a surplus, but that won’t be cheap either.
“Mandate”. I think this is one of the biggest issues that people have with the whole EV thing.
Mandate is the new Freedom.