Photo: Ford
In spring, Ford unveiled ambitious plans to go all-electric in Europe, with no less than seven new electric vehicles planned until 2024. The first to come on the market are the two crossovers based on Volkswagen’s MEB platform, with the first scheduled for production in Cologne next year.
Ford has pledged to challenge Tesla for world EV domination, and it cannot do that without being successful in Europe. The European market is, next to China, the most important for electric vehicles, and Ford is in a great position thanks to its outsized footprint there, especially in Germany. It’s no wonder why Ford chose the plant in Cologne as the spearhead of its EV push, even at the expense of two popular European models, the Focus and the Fiesta.
The Mustang Mach-E was a great success for Ford, despite some considering that it muddies the iconic names in so many ways. Nevertheless, you need more than one successful EV model to push for the EV crown. This is where the partnership with Volkswagen can help Ford speed up its EV program, with two crossovers planned on the MEB architecture.
On Thursday, Ford unveiled a new marketing strategy in Europe while also revealing to the media details of the MEB-based electric crossover that will roll off the production lines in Cologne. According to Peter Zillig, Ford of Europe’s marketing director, the Blue Oval will leverage its American heritage with a new “Adventurous Spirit” philosophy. As puzzling as this may seem, Zillig says that Adventurous Spirit will not replace “Bring on Tomorrow” in Ford’s advertising, brochures, and PR materials.
Certainly, Ford showed its adventurous spirit when it chose to name its first EV as Mustang Mach-E. Especially as this was not a true Mustang and certainly not a Mach-1 Mustang. Now, Ford wants to do it again with the two MEB-based models. According to Zillig, they fall into the “Active Adventure” family of passenger vehicles next to the Kuga (aka Escape across the Ocean).
Zillig was generous to share on LinkedIn a teaser of the future Medium-size crossover built in Cologne, which reveals the proportions of the SUV that will probably be a tad smaller than the Kuga/Escape. Nevertheless, Zillig was nowhere near as generous as his colleague Martin Sander, the head of passenger vehicles at Ford of Europe. Sander shared the future’s SUV prototype pictures while partly taking the wraps off the front of the car.
As far as we can tell, the Medium-size crossover is a Volkswagen ID.4 in Ford’s guise, although with a boxier design and a rugged appearance. Its brother, dubbed Sports Crossover, on the other hand, will be based on the ID.5 and will adopt a sleeker, coupe-like design. Both crossovers will be built in Cologne, with the boxier SUV scheduled as early as 2023 and the coupe-SUV following in 2024. This seems like a logical decision considering the ties with the German brand.
The Mustang Mach-E was a great success for Ford, despite some considering that it muddies the iconic names in so many ways. Nevertheless, you need more than one successful EV model to push for the EV crown. This is where the partnership with Volkswagen can help Ford speed up its EV program, with two crossovers planned on the MEB architecture.
On Thursday, Ford unveiled a new marketing strategy in Europe while also revealing to the media details of the MEB-based electric crossover that will roll off the production lines in Cologne. According to Peter Zillig, Ford of Europe’s marketing director, the Blue Oval will leverage its American heritage with a new “Adventurous Spirit” philosophy. As puzzling as this may seem, Zillig says that Adventurous Spirit will not replace “Bring on Tomorrow” in Ford’s advertising, brochures, and PR materials.
Certainly, Ford showed its adventurous spirit when it chose to name its first EV as Mustang Mach-E. Especially as this was not a true Mustang and certainly not a Mach-1 Mustang. Now, Ford wants to do it again with the two MEB-based models. According to Zillig, they fall into the “Active Adventure” family of passenger vehicles next to the Kuga (aka Escape across the Ocean).
Zillig was generous to share on LinkedIn a teaser of the future Medium-size crossover built in Cologne, which reveals the proportions of the SUV that will probably be a tad smaller than the Kuga/Escape. Nevertheless, Zillig was nowhere near as generous as his colleague Martin Sander, the head of passenger vehicles at Ford of Europe. Sander shared the future’s SUV prototype pictures while partly taking the wraps off the front of the car.
As far as we can tell, the Medium-size crossover is a Volkswagen ID.4 in Ford’s guise, although with a boxier design and a rugged appearance. Its brother, dubbed Sports Crossover, on the other hand, will be based on the ID.5 and will adopt a sleeker, coupe-like design. Both crossovers will be built in Cologne, with the boxier SUV scheduled as early as 2023 and the coupe-SUV following in 2024. This seems like a logical decision considering the ties with the German brand.
Great to see so many of our media friends today in our @Ford in Europe Design Center. Can't wait for 2023 to arrive, when we will pull the cover of our first electric passenger vehicle coming from #Cologne. #EVs #ElectricVehicle #NewYear2023 pic.twitter.com/3wH3ixEWCW
— Martin Sander (@MSander22) December 15, 2022
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