Ford is investing a billion dollars (824 million euros) in the conversion of its Cologne plant to build an electric car for the European market. This makes the city on the Rhine the first Ford location in Europe to be awarded a purely battery-powered car. The car is to be built on the basis of the architecture developed by Volkswagen for compact e-cars such as the ID.3 and will roll off the production line from 2023, as Ford announced on Wednesday.
The second largest US car manufacturer wants to convert its fleet of cars in Europe to electric cars or plug-in hybrids by 2026. By the end of the decade, the range of vehicles should be completely electric. The commercial vehicle fleet should be on the road with climate-friendly drives by 2024.
Ford recently accelerated its electric offensive despite high losses and plans to invest around $ 22 billion in new battery and hybrid vehicles by 2025. After the successful restructuring of the European business, Ford is now embarking on a fully electric future, explained European boss Stuart Rowley.
VW and Ford agreed a billion-dollar alliance for e-cars and autonomous driving a year and a half ago. The pact provides for the US group to use the electrical construction kit for compact cars (MEB) developed by Volkswagen. According to earlier information, more than 600,000 units will roll off the production line within six years. As a result, the Wolfsburg-based company expect additional sales of ten to 20 billion dollars. In addition, talks were already underway about a new delivery contract for a second vehicle. Then the delivery on MEB platforms to Ford could almost double.
