Ford Europe recently announced that it would be trimming 4,000 jobs by the end of 2027 – most of them in the UK and Germany – as it faces weak demand for its all-electric models and passenger vehicles, as a whole. In a hyper-competitive market that’s also aiming to end the sale of pure ICE models by 2035, things are looking quite bleak in Europe not only for Ford, but also, a variety of other automakers that are shuttering plants, canceling new models, and trimming back production and costs. Now, it seems as if industry insiders feel precisely that same way.
According to a recent survey that polled a number of automotive industry insiders conducted by Automobilwoche, 45 percent of respondents remain skeptical that Ford will be able to make it in Europe, versus 37 percent who were undecided, with the rest showing more optimism.
“The results of the survey underline how strong the doubts about Ford’s future viability are in the European car market,” said Civey expert Christian Riedl. “Especially with regard to electromobility and innovation, many expect Ford to take clear steps to position itself in a future-proof position. At the same time, the high proportion of the brand’s inecides offers the opportunity to strengthen its position in the market through a convincing vision and visible progress.”
As Ford Authority previously reported, The Blue Oval is trimming back production of the fairly new Ford Explorer EV and Capri that will result in the addition of more short-time days at the Cologne Electric Vehicle Center in Germany starting in Q1 2025 as both of those models face soft demand. Earlier this week, the automaker also announced that it will focus more on the more successful, commercial Ford Pro side of its business in Europe moving forward, and even plans to expand it while “right-sizing” its fledgling passenger vehicle business.
Comments
Ford will be struggling even worse in this country as well if they don’t get the quality control and prices in alignment. Quit wasting time, money, and focus on electric cars that no one wants. They will never be more than a niche market. Especially now that the political winds have shifted
Agree. And why waste money in Europe? US isn’t in great shape either. If it wasn’t for the almighty F-150, Ford would be toast.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say that electric cars will never be more than a niche market, but the transition will be slower. I think it was a huge mistake for the industry as a whole to try to jump to electric passenger cars so quickly.
The better option IMO is/was to roll out local short trip commercial vehicles – fleet pickup trucks and delivery vans for commercial businesses operating within 25-50 miles of their daily base station. This would also reduce the demand for fossil fuels from the rest of us thereby helping the supply/demand curve and prices for gasoline and diesel.
That was the problem. The automakers were blind and followed the politicians instead of the market w this hard EV cutover. (So blind!)
I remember Toyota’s CEO being excoriated for publicly stating the obvious- they were going to follow the prudent strategy… of building what the customer wants (not the frickin’ regulators)
Prices are gonna go up even more due to expected Trump tariffs that have been proposed.
The auto industry looks bleak for all auto manufacturers in Europe due to the Draconian regulations. This country should beware
I think we were beware – as of Nov 5th