Production of electric cars shrinking/lukpixaby
Although the Explorer Electric was unveiled in March 2023, Ford only started production in June of this year. First shown in July, the redesigned Capri rolled off the assembly line in September.
Ford's European business is already cutting production at its Cologne plant in Germany. Why? Because two products associated with Volkswagen are not selling very well, writes Motor.
Reporters learned from a Ford representative that “the rapid deterioration of market conditions for electric vehicles “hampers the production of Explorer and Capri. Workers will have no choice but to alternate between one week of work and one week off until the Christmas break. This is a huge blow to the Cologne plant, given that Ford has invested $2 billion in preparing the German plant to produce electric cars.
It's rare for an automaker to slow production on a car that's only been in production for a few months. Ford's electric foray into Europe came courtesy of the Fiesta, the popular supermini that was shockingly phased out in July 2023. To make matters worse, the company doesn't have many diesel cars left, as the Valencia, Spain-built Mondeo dies in 2022 and the Focus will be phased out in 2025 from the Saarlui plant in Germany.
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Electric Ford Capri/Photo by Ford
In the first nine months of this year, Ford's market share in the European Union, Great Britain and the countries of the European Free Trade Association/EFTA (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway) fell from 4.1% to just 3.3%. Figures released by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) show that Ford sold just 326,975 passenger cars, down 18% compared to January-September 2023.
Automotive News Europe reports that additional production cuts at the plant in Cologne are planned for the beginning of 2025. The company's first carbon-neutral site has a maximum annual capacity of 250,000 electric vehicles, but reaching that number seems like a pipe dream so far.
Ford's other electric vehicle, the F-150 Lightning, is also struggling. Production at the Dearborn, Michigan plant will be suspended from November 15 to January 6, 2025 due to low demand. The seven-week shutdown includes the usual week-long holiday break and is the second time Ford has halted production. It first happened in February for nine weeks due to quality issues that were not resolved until April.