June 2023 is the end of the small car model.
(Photo: imago images/photothek)
Cologne The end of the combustion engine age is coming at Ford’s main plant in Cologne earlier than previously planned. As the European subsidiary of the US car company confirmed on Wednesday, the last example of the small car Fiesta will roll off the assembly line in June next year. So far, the combustion model, which has been manufactured in Cologne since 1979, was supposed to be produced until 2024.
Ford Europe is reacting to the growing demand for electric cars. “We need the plant in Cologne for our new electric models,” said Martin Sander, head of electronics for Ford Europe and at the same time chairman of the board of Ford Germany. The carmaker wants to accelerate the switch in Europe to a purely electric offer with the faster end of the Fiesta.
The main Ford plant in Cologne will be converted to purely electric production with investments of around two billion dollars. Ford has already given up a production line for combustion engines; it is currently being converted for the first electric model from Cologne.
Ford is exiting the small car segment in Europe
At the end of 2023, Ford wants to start series production of its first purely battery-powered European electric model in Cologne and at the same time start selling it. At the same time, the carmaker says goodbye to the small car segment.
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The first new electric car from Cologne is to compete one step higher in the compact class and, according to Ford’s previous announcements, will be an SUV. For both new electric models from Cologne, the US group obtains the electric platforms from Volkswagen, the “modular electric drive kit” (MEB).
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The early end of the Fiesta production in the Cologne main plant allows the faster market launch of the second electric model. According to the European headquarters, the second electric vehicle is expected to go to dealers six months after the first model.
Production is also being converted in Valencia
Ford also expects higher earnings from the early change. With the Fiesta, the group has not earned particularly well recently. In important European sales markets such as Great Britain, sales figures have recently continued to decline.
Ford also announced on Wednesday that it would switch production at its Spanish car plant near Valencia. There, the second largest US automaker will give up the production of the Galaxy and S-Max models and concentrate on the production of the compact SUV Kuga. Ford has recently only produced a few thousand copies of the S-Max and Galaxy per year.
As with most other car manufacturers, the van segment no longer plays a special role for Ford. The step now simplifies production in Valencia, allowing Ford to reduce production costs.
Ford Europe is among the car manufacturers that have announced a concrete end to the production of combustion models. This should be the end of the European market by 2030. At the end of the decade, the car factory in Valencia, Spain, will also be converted to electromobility. In the US home market, however, Ford is taking more time with the changeover.
More: End for German car factory – Ford gives up car production in Saarlouis