It wasn’t too terribly long ago that Ford planned to transition its entire passenger vehicle lineup in Europe to EVs by 2030 or sooner, but with demand failing to grow at expected levels, the automaker ditched that plan last year. Regardless, both the European Union and the UK are still aiming to phase out the sale of gas-powered vehicles in the coming years, which creates a bit of a conundrum. As such, The Blue Oval has been quite vocal about the need for robust EV incentives to drive sales, something that Ford UK managing director Lisa Brankin has addressed on multiple occasions – and that request isn’t going away, either.
“We welcome the government’s direct attention on the UK electric vehicle scheme and its initiation of a consultation with the industry,” Brankin said in a newly released statement. “Now that the consultation has concluded, the time for talking is over and our industry needs urgent action. Ford shares the government’s carbon reduction ambitions and is committed to an electric vehicle future, but these ambitions are unachievable with the current level of consumer demand. Adoption of electric vehicles isn’t happening fast enough, and we risk falling short of important environmental targets while also facing costly penalties if we don’t meet targets.
“We have been very clear throughout the consultation that stronger governmental support is essential, including purchase incentives, faster charging infrastructure roll-out, and greater flexibilities in the VETS scheme to help manage the transition. Ford and others have invested heavily in electrification, but ambition alone won’t get us to net zero – we need decisive action now.”
As Ford Authority reported last month, The Blue Oval avoided paying fines in the UK after missing its EV sales target in 2024, which was also the case with all automotive manufacturers. However, only BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Geely, Tesla, and BYD actually met their targets in that regard, while every other automaker must either cut emissions in their ICE vehicle fleets or buy credits from future years. In the meantime, Ford is scaling back its struggling passenger vehicle business in Europe and focusing more on the hyper-successful Ford Pro commercial side of the business.
Comments
Spurred on by Bill and Jim no doubt.
EV’s are NOT ready for prime time.
Why would anyone in their right mind want something that is less functional than the product they are meant to replace?
Consumers know this and do not want them.
When are automakers going to realize they made a mistake and move on?
If you need the governments of the world to force this onto people, it’s wrong and obviously not ready.
EVs are an OPTION, the public has spoken. Keep them as just another option for buyers and move forward already.
‘our industry needs urgent action’. Translation – fahgetabout it with regards to EVs.