Ford of Europe is at present a shadow of its former glory after the Blue Oval’s Grim Reaper killed so many automobiles in latest occasions. In only a few years, we’ve needed to say goodbye to the Ka, Mondeo, Fiesta, S-Max, and Galaxy. Moreover, the Focus will chew the mud later this 12 months, leaving Ford with none common quantity automobiles in its lineup that aren’t crossovers. Consequently, gross sales proceed to slip, with solely 185,404 models delivered in Europe by way of Might, down 1.5% in comparison with the primary 5 months of 2024.
Gross sales figures revealed by the European Car Producers’ Affiliation (ACEA) additionally present the corporate’s market share on the continent has shrunk to three.3%, whereas Toyota holds double that, at 6.6%. However Ford has a plan to bounce again: launch new automobiles. German enterprise newspaper Automobilwoche stories sellers have been informed new steel is on the best way.
We’ve reached out to Ford for affirmation however haven’t heard again but. Nevertheless, the report claims sellers have been predictably glad to listen to the promise made in a video convention by Christoph Herr, the newly appointed Managing Director of Ford Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. CEO Jim Farley has allegedly green-lit the event of recent fashions to fill a few of the void left by the discontinuation of a number of nameplates, a few of which had been round for many years.
It’s unclear what number of new fashions are on the best way or whether or not they’ll have combustion engines. We reckon Ford is keen to roll out gas-powered automobiles, given the lackluster gross sales of its Explorer and Capri. Each Volkswagen-based EVs are assembled on the firm’s Cologne plant in Germany, the place a labor deal was reached for voluntary layoffs in response to sluggish demand.
As you possibly can think about, European sellers are desperate to promote new fashions. Automobilwoche quotes certainly one of them as saying, “This can be a large aid. We want new fashions — and never simply electrical fashions.” One other declared, “We love this model — it is part of Europe and will stay so.” Nevertheless, since sellers are solely now studying about these automobiles, it’s unlikely that any of them will likely be out there within the foreseeable future.
The choice solely impacts Ford of Europe’s lineup, as there’s no phrase but on whether or not automobiles will even return in the USA. The Dearborn-based automaker took an identical strategy in North America, slicing the Fiesta, Focus, Fusion, and Taurus over only a few years. Why have been all these automobiles axed? Farley mentioned final 12 months, Ford needs to get “out of the boring-car enterprise and into the iconic-vehicle enterprise.” He added that whereas a few of these automobiles have been standard amongst patrons, the corporate wasn’t making any actual cash on them.
Ford has backed away from going totally electrical in Europe by 2030, so the brand new fashions are prone to have combustion engines. Nevertheless, just for some time. The EU nonetheless intends to ban gross sales of recent automobiles that generate emissions beginning in 2035, successfully outlawing gasoline and diesel engines. A evaluate of the controversial ban is deliberate for 2026, however as not too long ago as this previous Might, the EU mentioned it’s not altering its thoughts.
