The car is scheduled to roll off the assembly line at Ford in Cologne this year.
Cologne Ford’s electric offensive in Europe comes late. On Tuesday, the group presented its first all-electric compact SUV in Cologne. The Explorer is intended to embody Ford’s new brand genes – be rougher and more American. Above all, however, he should catch up with competitors such as Volkswagen or Opel, who already offer electric cars in the segment.
Ford gets help from Volkswagen itself. Technically, the vehicle is based on Volkswagen’s electrical construction kit MEB, and the relationship is also visible at least in terms of dimensions: At 4.46 meters long and 1.87 meters wide, the Explorer is about the same size as the VW ID.4 – even if it stands out visually. Outside, Ford relies on an off-road vehicle look, inside the car surprises with a large display, similar to what is known from the US electric car manufacturer Tesla.
After the departure of the Fiesta, the Explorer is of enormous importance for the Ford plant in Cologne. The head of Germany, Martin Sander, was correspondingly optimistic when presenting the new model at the Cologne engine plant: “Today is a big day for Ford.” The SUV is scheduled to roll off the assembly line in Cologne this year. The charging time to 80 percent is 25 minutes. Ford only wants to announce further details – such as the battery chemistry and specific performance data – before the product launch. At the start, the car should cost less than 45,000 euros.
Ford: Laggards in electromobility in Europe
This means that the new electric explorer will be marginally cheaper than the VW ID.4. Despite the competitive situation, UBS analyst Patrick Hummel does not believe that Volkswagen could dig the water out by selling its electric platform. “For VW, the delivery means better economies of scale for the platform.”
In return, the technology from VW brings Ford a time advantage above all. In the coming years, the US group wants to develop its own platform for electric cars until they are ready for the market. In 2020, VW and Ford had formed a strategic alliance and recently deepened it. Overall, the cooperation is designed for six years of production and should include 1.2 million vehicles.
First all-electric volume model in Europe as a milestone.
(Photo: obs)
“Ford is clearly a latecomer in Europe and is extremely late with its first volume electric model,” says Stefan Bratzel, Director of the Center of Automotive Management in Bergisch Gladbach. The group therefore had little choice but to use existing solutions. UBS expert Hummel also says: “Ford is facing major structural challenges in its European business.”
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In fact, the American automaker is doomed to succeed in the electronics space. By 2030, the US group wants to produce and sell only purely electrically powered cars in Europe. The Explorer is crucial for this. In America, Ford had therefore offered a purely electric F-150. The pick-up model is the best-selling car in the USA. So far, however, it has not been brought to Europe.
The Explorer is now to initiate Ford’s electric offensive in Europe. This is also urgently needed: Recently, the manufacturer had lost massive market share in Europe and made large losses. For the past financial year alone, there was a loss of around 2.2 billion dollars. In America, Ford, number two in the market, is worse off than its big rival General Motors.
Because of the E-Wende: Ford cuts 3800 jobs – especially in Germany
In order to get out of the red in the long term, CEO Jim Farley is currently trimming the traditional brand for efficiency and setting ambitious goals. By 2025, the margin for electric cars should be eight percent. For this, Ford must also push through higher prices in Europe. According to the group, the overall cost disadvantage compared to the competition is up to 7.5 billion euros. This year alone, Ford wants to save a good two billion euros in costs worldwide.
Large displays like Tesla.
The new austerity course hits Germany above all: the group wants to cut 3,800 jobs in Europe in the coming years – especially at the Cologne site. Production of the small car Fiesta will end there in July, after which the Explorer will be manufactured locally. But far fewer parts are installed in the electric cars, which means that Ford also needs fewer staff on site. Germany boss Sander recently spoke to the Handelsblatt about “headwinds on the European car market”, thereby justifying the latest round of austerity measures.
At the presentation of the new Elektro-Explorer, Marketing and Sales Manager Christian Weingärtner got the 1200 employees in the Cologne engine plant in the mood for the transformation. “The competition is getting bigger,” warned the manager. He specifically named VW and Opel’s parent company Stellantis as competitors, whose brands are about four times the size of Ford.
Instead of giving the electric SUV a new name, Ford is relying on an established model. The compact SUV Explorer has long been one of the most profitable vehicles from the US automaker as a combustion engine. In terms of size, the electric successor is somewhere between the all-electric Mustang Mach-E SUV and the Fiesta successor Puma. The electric version of the small SUV is scheduled to roll off the assembly line in Romania from 2024. And the cooperation with VW should also produce further models. Another all-electric MEB-based Ford model is planned for the coming year in Cologne.
More: Ford is cutting 12 percent of its jobs in Germany