Vehicle manufacturer Ford vows to go all-electric in Europe by 2030
February 17, 2021
Vehicle manufacturer Ford has announced its plans to convert its entire passenger line in Europe to all-electric by 2030. This announcement comes amid the new EU regulations under curbing emissions, which have put all automakers under pressure to increase their electric offering.
The company will make their factory in Germany the hub for its electric operations. To do this revamp to its factory in Cologne, the company plans to spend about $1 billion and over the next two and a half years. Ford also plans to make this factory a base for producing battery-powered cars using Volkswagen’s mechanical framework.
The first fully electric car is expected to roll out from the Cologne production facility by 2023 and Ford aims to have a second plug-in hybrid version of its passenger cars by 2024.
These changes are expected to take place over the next two and a half years and the company has an agreement with Volkswagen to use their MEB — modular electric toolkit which includes their batteries, axels and wheels capable of being adjusted to produce different car models.
The New EU regulations put pressure on OEMs to produce more climate-friendly models by imposing heavy fines if any marque's combined fleet emits more than an average of 95 grams of CO2 per kilometre. This regulation would come into effect over the next two-and-a-half years.
The announcement comes just a month after U.S. rival General Motors said its entire global fleet would largely be electric by 2035. Breaking with more than a century of producing internal combustion engines, GM revamped its corporate logo in the likeness of an electric plug.
The speed of the transformation at GM and Ford underlines a revolution in the auto sector, pushed by regulators seeking to limit emissions. Automakers are simultaneously moving toward digital technology such as smartphone apps and advanced driver assistance systems, with the ultimate goal of fully autonomous vehicles.