Ford changes its plans and now says it will continue selling combustion-engine vehicles in 2030

Ford announced some time ago its intention to sell exclusively electric vehicles in Europe from 2030 onwards. The current situation in the car industry has, however, led the American carmaker to reconsider its position, now stating that it will maintain its offer of combustion-engine and hybrid vehicles beyond that date.

The company has justified this decision by the somewhat slower-than-expected uptake of electric vehicles in Europe, based on its forecasts.

Speaking to the media, Marin Gjaja, the current Director of Operations of Ford’s Electrification Division, explained the company’s change of heart, stating that high battery costs, as well as uncertainty surrounding legislation and incentive programmes for electric models, are causing customers to reconsider buying this type of vehicle. For this reason, Ford is obliged to maintain its offer of vehicles with hybrid propulsion systems and combustion engines.

“I don’t think we can bet everything on one card until our customers decide they are fully committed, and that is progressing at different rates around the world. We don’t see going fully electric by 2030 as a good choice for our business or, especially, for our customers”.

Car manufacturers in general may have been overly optimistic in their electrification plans in recent years

In any case, Ford maintains that electrification remains a long-term goal. The company’s efforts will culminate sooner or later in a fully electrified fleet, provided that the high costs of batteries can be reduced first, while also improving their energy density. However, the company’s management considers that although that day will come, right now no one can say for certain when.

Ford had declared in 2021 its intention to sell only electric vehicles in Europe from 2030. For commercial vehicles, two-thirds of sales should also correspond to fully electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles. A target, however, that is now considered too ambitious.

In Europe, Ford opened its Electric Vehicle Centre in June 2023 at its plant in the German city of Cologne. At these facilities, the company currently produces the electric Explorer based on Volkswagen’s MEB platform, and also the recently announced Capri. This was made possible after the American company invested two billion dollars in converting this plant for the production of electric models.