Ford begins drive to electrify all European cars by 2030
Auto giant Ford has today announced that its European car lineup will be fully electrified by 2030.
With a number of European countries set to ban diesel and petrol cars at the end of the decade, the US firm is the latest carmaker to commit to an all-electric future.
By 2026, the firm said that 100 per cent of its passenger vehicle range will be either all-electric or plug-in hybrid.
It will then phase out the plug-in option by 2030 in anticipation of oncoming bans on the fusion technology.
In order to drive the transition, Ford said that it would make a $1bn investment into a new EV manufacturing centre in Cologne in Germany.
The first electric cars will roll off the new plants production lines in 2023, it added.
The announcement prompted union Unite to call for the company to put more money into the UK.
Unite national officer for the automotive industries Des Quinn said: “Given the continuing popularity of its cars with the British public, we believe that now is the time for Ford’s senior executives to look to place new investment in the UK.
Before the Open: Get the jump on the markets with our early morning newsletter
“The dedicated UK workforce has suffered closures and job losses in recent years to help reshape the company and they now need to be rewarded for that loyalty, especially given the enormous value of the UK market to Ford’s operations.”
Ford operates two major manufacturing sites in the UK, diesel engine production at Dagenham and transmissions production at Halewood. It also operates a large research and development facility in Dunton, Essex.
Today’s announcement came as Ford reported a return to profit in Europe during the fourth quarter.
It also said that it would invest $22bn into electrification activities around the world.
“We successfully restructured Ford of Europe and returned to profitability in the fourth quarter of 2020″, said Stuart Rowley, president, Ford of Europe.
“Now we are charging into an all-electric future in Europe with expressive new vehicles and a world-class connected customer experience.”
Earlier this week Tata-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) announced it would roll out electric versions of its whole range by 2030, with aims to be tailpipe-emissions negative by 2036.
And last month Ford’s US rival General Motors said that it would cease production of all petrol and diesel vehicles by 2035.