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Ford is investing $ 1 billion in an electric vehicle production facility in Cologne, Germany, with the European arm of the car giant committing to “all-in” electric vehicles in the coming years.
In plans announced Wednesday morning, Ford said Europe’s full range of passenger vehicles will be “capable of zeroing, being fully electric or hybrid plug-in” by mid-2026, with a “fully electric” offer by in 2030.
The investment in Cologne will cause the company to upgrade an existing assembly plant, turning it into an installation focused on the production of electric vehicles.
“Our announcement today to transform our factory in Cologne, the home of our 90-year-old operations in Germany, is one of Ford’s most significant achievements in over a generation,” said Stuart Rowley, Ford’s President of Europe. a statement.
“It underscores our commitment to Europe and a modern future, with electric vehicles at the heart of our growth strategy,” Rowley added.
The company wants its commercial vehicle segment in Europe to be able to emit zero, be it plug-in hybrid or fully electric by 2024.
A “transformative” decade
With governments around the world announcing plans to move away from diesel and gasoline vehicles, Ford, along with several other major automakers, is trying to step up its electricity supply and challenge companies like Elon Musk’s Tesla.
Earlier this week, Jaguar Land Rover announced that the Jaguar brand will become electric in 2025. The company, owned by Tata Motors, also said that its Land Rover segment will launch six “pure electric variants” in the next five years.
Elsewhere, South Korean automaker Kia will launch its first dedicated electric vehicle this year, while German group Volkswagen is investing about 35 billion euros (about 42.27 billion dollars) in battery-powered electric vehicles and says that it wants to launch about 70 fully electric models by 2030.
Last month, the CEO of Daimler told CNBC that the car industry is “in the middle of a transformation.”
“In addition to the things we know well – to build, frankly, the most desirable cars in the world – there are two technological trends that we are doubling: electrification and digitization,” Ola Källenius told CNBC’s Annette Weisbach.
The Stuttgart-based company “pours billions into these new technologies,” he said, adding that “they will lead our way to CO2-free driving.” He said this decade would be “transformative”.