Stuart Rowley President Ford of Europe
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By Tiziana Di Giovannandrea
February 17, 2021 The carmaker Ford will invest $ 1 billion to modernize and renovate its vehicle factory in Cologne, Germany with the aim of fully switching to electric for all models sold in Europe by 2030. Stuart Rowley, president of Ford of Europe, broke the news during a press conference.
The Cologne plant employs just over 4,000 employees and has been the Ford manufacturing site for 90 years.
The announcement by the blue oval auto giant to convert the entire automotive automotive sector in Europe to electric shows that this is just the latest sign of the seismic technological changes sweeping the entire auto industry.
"Ford is committed to ensuring that, by mid-2026, 100% of Ford's car lineup sold in Europe will have a heavily electrified version - plug-in hybrid or all-electric - while the full range in all versions it could be fully electrified by 2030, "the automaker specified.
The electric breakthrough
News of
Ford
's new electric car
comes just a month after US rival
General Motors
said it's the entire global fleet will be largely electric by 2035. To break away from more than a century of manufacturing internal combustion engines, General Motors has also renewed its corporate logo in the likeness of an electric plug.
The speed of transformation affects both Ford and General Motors and highlights the ongoing revolution within the automotive industry, pushed by regulators seeking to limit harmful emissions.
In addition, car manufacturers are also moving towards digital technology at the same time, such as smartphone apps and advanced driver assistance systems, with the ultimate goal of fully autonomous vehicles.
To achieve the modernization goals, Ford reached an agreement with
Volkswagen
that made a massive investment in electric cars to accelerate the transition to zero-emission vehicles.
Volkswagen uses basic standard mechanics such as: the battery, suspension, wheels and axles;
basic mechanics that can be adapted to produce different vehicle models.
Ford's
commercial vehicle business growth
predicts that as many as two-thirds of its
commercial vehicle sales
in Europe will be hybrid electric or plug-in by 2030. The blue-oval carmaker is moving fast, for all its vehicles to the 'electric, Rowley said.
In 2020, Ford was the leading brand in commercial vehicle sales for the sixth consecutive year.
Carmakers in Europe need to sell more electric vehicles to meet
new limits on carbon
dioxide emissions
, the main greenhouse gas responsible for global warming.
The new limit, which came into effect earlier this year, is part of the European Union's efforts to comply with the 2015 Paris Agreement on global warming.
If manufacturers don't keep average fleet emissions below the limit, they will face heavy fines.
Rowley said Ford is able to avoid fines by moving towards converting its fleet to electric.
The company said commercial vehicles are the key to growth and profitability in Europe, with new products and services through its alliance with Volkswagen and the Ford Otosan joint venture in Turkey.