Seven new Ford EVs by 2024

A succession of crossovers and vans are set to swell Ford’s battery-electric line-up

Ford’s first new electric car will be a medium crossover

Ford will launch seven new electric vehicles in Europe by 2024, including three cars that will be spearheaded by a new crossover using Volkswagen’s MEB platform technology. The three new electric cars will come under the new Ford Model E division, set up to separate the firm’s battery-electric business from its combustion-engined one, which is now called Ford Blue.

The first car to be launched is expected to be based on the VW ID 4 and sit below the Mustang Mach-E in Ford’s line-up. It will be built at Ford’s new state-of-the-art EV production centre in Cologne, Germany. The model will be launched in 2023 and is described officially as a “medium-sized crossover”.

The second Ford EV to be built at the plant will arrive in 2024 as a “sports crossover” – probably a more performance-oriented coupé derivative of the first car to be launched, in the vein of the VW ID 5. Ford will also introduce an electric variant of the Puma (see separate story, right). Talking about the VW-derived cars, Ford of Europe boss Stuart Rowley said: “These products will absolutely look like Fords, drive like Fords and the experiences that we provide will give customers unique purchase and ownership experiences.”

In addition, four electric commercial vehicles will be launched from next year. The Transit Custom one-tonne van and Tourneo Custom multipurpose vehicles will go on sale in 2023, followed in 2024 by a smaller, new Transit Courier and Tourneo Courier MPV. Ford expects to sell 600,000 EVs annually by 2026, with 1.2 million electric cars made in Cologne over a six-year period. As a result, it is investing an additional £1.5 billion in developing the plant.

Ford says these initiatives will allow it to achieve zero emissions for all vehicle sales and carbon neutrality across its entire European footprint of facilities, logistics and suppliers by 2035.

Mach-E and E-Transit will be joined by four vans and three cars

As a result of Ford reworking its production capacity to achieve its EV ambitions, the Ecosport will cease production later this year.

Ford is moving ownership of its Craiova manufacturing facility in Romania – where it makes the Puma – into a joint venture with Ford Otosan.

FORD’S FIRSTMEB EV: WHAT DO WE KNOW?

• Images of a covered up clay model suggest a straight-edged, two-box silhouette.
• Europe boss Stuart Rowley has hinted Ford’s European EVs will take cues from their US siblings.
• The brand has made no secret of its plan to resurrect some historic nameplates.
• This could be the first Ford model to use a new Android-based infotainment system.
• It is likely to match the VW ID 4’s maximum range of 320 miles.