Photo: Ford
Uncertain times are coming for Ford’s Focus compact car plant in Saarlouis, Germany, as the company has announced plans to significantly reduce production at this specific factory after August 29.
The news comes after Ford announced big changes to its product strategy in Europe. The company let the world know back then that its passenger car lineup available on the old continent would become all-electric by 2030.
As part of this big electric push for the next decade, the automaker announced it would build 7 EVs in the region, including a battery-electric variant of its best-selling passenger car in Europe, the Puma small crossover, which is expected to arrive in 2024. There were also mentions of a $2 billion investment into its other German assembly factory in Cologne, and about increasing EV production at the Cologne plant to 1.2 million MEB-based models over a six-year timeframe.
So considering all these previous statements, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Saarlouis plant gets overlooked in the company’s plans for the future.
At the moment, what Ford is doing is laying the grounds for an all-electric future, and in preparation for the move, the company is dividing its passenger-car business into the electric Model e division and the Ford Blue combustion engine division.
The news about the future of the Saarlouis plant comes after Martin Sander was appointed as head of Ford’s European passenger cars business and of Ford’s German operations, including the Cologne and Saarlouis assembly factories.
Sales numbers for the Focus model might have played a role in the decision to cut production also, as recent data has shown that Focus sales plummeted 28 percent in Europe until April this year.
A definitive decision on what the future holds for the Saarlouis plant is expected to be made by the end of this month.
As part of this big electric push for the next decade, the automaker announced it would build 7 EVs in the region, including a battery-electric variant of its best-selling passenger car in Europe, the Puma small crossover, which is expected to arrive in 2024. There were also mentions of a $2 billion investment into its other German assembly factory in Cologne, and about increasing EV production at the Cologne plant to 1.2 million MEB-based models over a six-year timeframe.
So considering all these previous statements, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Saarlouis plant gets overlooked in the company’s plans for the future.
At the moment, what Ford is doing is laying the grounds for an all-electric future, and in preparation for the move, the company is dividing its passenger-car business into the electric Model e division and the Ford Blue combustion engine division.
The news about the future of the Saarlouis plant comes after Martin Sander was appointed as head of Ford’s European passenger cars business and of Ford’s German operations, including the Cologne and Saarlouis assembly factories.
Sales numbers for the Focus model might have played a role in the decision to cut production also, as recent data has shown that Focus sales plummeted 28 percent in Europe until April this year.
A definitive decision on what the future holds for the Saarlouis plant is expected to be made by the end of this month.
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