Ford has been quite up front about its struggles in Europe recently, a region where its sales declined by 17 percent in 2024 versus the year prior. Facing a bleak future in Europe amid weak demand for EVs and passenger vehicles in general, The Blue Oval is shuffling its leadership team and shifting its focus more toward the commercial side of the business, which is enjoying tremendous success there, at least, all while calling for robust government incentives in an effort to drum up demand for electric vehicles. In the meantime, Ford plans to infuse a large mount of cash in its German operations to keep things afloat, too.
According to the Financial Times, Ford plans to sink €4.4bn (around $5 billion USD) into its German unit, which is currently riddled with debt. The company’s vice chair, John Lawler, was quick to note that Ford doesn’t intend to pull out of Europe altogether, but added that it does expect its Germany-based division to do more to help right the proverbial ship. “I don’t think we should be defeatist,” Lawler said. “We should set a path and figure out how we’re going to make this viable, and that’s what we’re intending to do.”
Even though Ford Germany is roughly €5bn ($5.4 billion USD) in debt, Lawler added that The Blue Oval remains committed to it, regardless. “I don’t think any subsidiary is left on its own . . . We need to continue to work on cost reductions.” He added that the long-expected electric vehicle transition in Europe “just hasn’t moved as quickly as everybody expected,” noting “It’s going to require tough decisions . . . and we’re going to have to work together.”
Lawler also continued to echo Ford’s calls for action on the part of the European Union as it pertains to launching EV incentives that will help the company’s Model e business unit achieve profitability, which at this point isn’t expected to happen until later this decade. “We all have plenty of supply of EVs into the marketplace. It’s a demand issue. We have to start attacking the root cause,” he said.
Comments
Electric cars are taking down the entire industry.
When will they wake up?
What do we get out of our current relationship with Europe?
– I see we have a trade deficit with them in the hundreds of billions of dollars.
– We pay hundreds of billions of dollars for their security, and it looks like we actually pay more for it than they currently do?
– Their regulations and requirements on our businesses shape our companies, instead of our companies shaping them. Which leads to lost money, products Americans don’t necessarily want, and in some ways, a loss of American freedoms.
– They seem to really want to be far left socialists, even communists. Why bother keeping Russia of of them anymore?
I’m not saying we abandon them, but what are we getting from this relationship in its current state?
You sound like a Trump supporter. Europe needs America and America needs Europe. Ford have made too many mistakes in Europe and then you blame politics, make better products and we would buy them. And in reference to your other comments, If Russia was to take over Europe, the US would be next in line. And Europe buys a heck of a lot of weapons from the US, so don’t forget that either.
The deficit includes Europe buying weapons. So we’re paying/losing close to $1 Trillion per year to keep Europe as a shield from Russia against the US? That’s the summary? In return, we get our companies hamstrung and ridiculous regulations that trickle over here and affect our freedoms anyway?
I think Trump is right. We can get a better deal here. Again, I’m not saying we turn our backs on Europe, but things need to be more level here.
Ford needs to take a look at how successful it is in Europe before throwing away more money. Oh, but that’s exactly what Jim and Bill just love to do.
If Ford were making the right vehicles in Europe, they would be selling them. The company needs to pay more attention to the design, the quality (particularly materials inside the cabin) and the way the vehicle drives (it must be the best in class). Ford has kind of lost its way in Europe, particularly in the B and C segments. They should be analysing what makes a car a desirable and a best seller? They should be looking at each segment which they compete in and understand what it takes to be a leader in those segments. They haven’t done that well enough to date.