Even with certain parts of the world continuing down the path of imposing zero-emissions mandates that aim to effectively ban the sale of new ICE-powered models, Ford continues to remain adamant that it will continue to offer a diverse array of powertrain options for the foreseeable future. This is true not only of the U.S., but also Europe, which is aiming to phase out the sale of everything but PHEVs and EVs in the coming years. As for Ford Australia, it’s seemingly heading down the same path in spite of increasing emissions requirements there, too.
“We’ll continue to offer ICE. There’s no doubt about that. Because that’s what customers want,” said Ford Australia and New Zealand CEO Andrew Birkic, according to CarExpert. “I don’t know about a problem. I think all OEMs are in this boat – whether it’s Australia or globally – everyone’s trying to work through that transition. What we’ve seen is there was a lot of investment in BEVs, and we’ve had to pivot a little bit to PHEVs for things like Transit. We have to be agile, because that’s what business is about – not only being able to interpret where the market is going, but be able to pivot and shift when you believe that the customer’s tastes or regulatory change is upon us.”
Starting this July, Australian automakers will begin being penalized if they don’t meet certain emissions targets under that country’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES), which are designed to incentivize the sale of zero-emissions vehicles. Regardless, it doesn’t seem as if Ford is too terribly concerned about that, judging by Birkic’s comments.
Ford has long remained adamant that it will continue to sell vehicles with the powertrains that its customers want, and that it won’t force them into EVs, in general. Executive Chairman Bill Ford has reiterated that sentiment on more than one occasion as of late, even recently stating that he believes “regulatory demands got ahead of where customers’ demand was in many markets.”
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