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Ford May Just Sell ICE Cars After 2030 In Europe
From 2030, Ford promises only to sell purely electric cars in Europe. However, Ford now also sees the situation: perhaps there will be some exceptions after all.
A few years ago, car manufacturers fell over each other to make ambitious promises for a fully electric future in (particularly) Europe. The EU dictates that every new car sold must be emission-free by 2035, but as a super-good (the marketing department of a car manufacturer), you like to set your goals a little tighter. Most major automakers set the “all-electric” goal five years earlier, and Ford was among them. From 2030, only electric Fords will have to be sold in Europe, but the electric flag on the market is now a little less rosy.
Automotive News Europe caught the first clear comments from Ford during the Financial Times Future of the Car summit. “If we see strong demand, for example for plug-in hybrids, we will offer it,” Ford of Europe boss Martin Sander is said to have said. Sander concludes that demand for electric cars is not as great as expected and that Ford is not achieving its interim electrification goals.
Ford is, of course, also actively electrifying. Many traditionally powered models have already been scrapped and the electric Explorer, a car on Volkswagen’s MEB platform, will soon be rolled off the production line in Cologne. A second model will follow on the same basis, although Ford will then switch back to EVs developed entirely in-house.
