Ford’s bold electric car plans haven’t got off to the intended start as the American brand has already been forced to reduce production of its two latest EV models at its Cologne factory due to low demand.
Both the new Explorer SUV and the controversial Capri are suffering from lower-than-expected sales.
Weak EV market conditions are also to blame, Ford has confirmed.
The new Explorer has only been rolling off the production line since June, and assembly of the freshly launched Capri started in September.
Yet a Ford spokesman told German newspaper Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger: ‘We produce more than we can sell,’ as it becomes another car maker caught out by the slowdown in global EV sales.
It comes just weeks after Volkswagen said it could be forced to lay off thousands of staff, cut salaries, trim bonus schemes and even close three of its car factories in Germany as a result of a recent slump in sales, especially EVs.
Ford’s new electric Capri has been dubbed the most controversial new car of 2024.
Both it and the Explorer share platforms with VW electric cars, but blue oval brand’s latest model has triggered furious response from Capri devotees who accused Ford of ‘blasphemy’ and being ‘disrespectful to the original Capri’ by using the name on an electric SUV baring little to no resemblance to its namesake.
Despite a huge – and expensive – launch campaign fronted by former Manchester United footballer Eric Cantona – and a media blitz using his now infamous tag line ‘the legend is back’ – Ford would have been hoping for better sales figures.
Poor demand for EVs in Europe and particularly Germany are partly to blame for the decision to roll back outputs with a spokesman confirming ‘the significantly lower than expected demand for electric vehicles, especially in Germany, requires a temporary adjustment to production volumes’.
To deal with the situation, Ford is reportedly implementing short-time work from next week, with works scheduled to stop for three weeks in total.
Workers at the Cologne plant on the Explorer and Capri assembly lines are now operating on a ‘one week on, one week off’ rotation – and this will continue until Christmas.
Fiat has been forced to deploy a similar pause in production of its electric 500e in Turin, also due to a lack of demand.
Bosses at the Italian brand have blamed the lack of sales on older drivers not wanting battery cars.
Ford told This is Money: ‘We continuously monitor market developments. The significantly lower than expected demand for electric vehicles especially in the German market require temporary adjustments of production at the Cologne Electric Vehicle Center.
‘We can confirm that Ford plans to apply for short time working with the Bundesagentur für Arbeit due to the rapidly deteriorating market conditions for electric vehicles.’
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