Seven new models, new battery factory in Turkey: Ford expands its European footprint

Ford plans to upgrade its line-up of electric vehicles, launching seven new models covering passenger and commercial vehicles over the next two years, in an effort to sell more than 600000 electric vehicles in 2026.

Ford said on Monday that it had doubled its planned investment in its European production site in Cologne, Germany, to $2 billion, allowing it to start producing electric cars and battery assembly facilities from 2024.

Stuart Rowley, CEO of Ford Europe, explained in a phone call with the media: "this is not a strategic change, but to accelerate our electrification plan." By 2024, we will have nine electric car models in Europe, up from two today. "

Ford has also strengthened its commitment to fully electric in Europe, with the latest plan to sell only battery-powered passenger cars in Europe by 2030, and its light commercial vehicle range should also become all-electric by 2035.

Rowley added that two of the new electric models to be built in Cologne will be based on the MEB platform in partnership with Volkswagen. MEB is the abbreviation of (Modular electric drive matrix), a flexible modular system platform for electric vehicles.

On the same day, Ford also announced a preliminary agreement to build a new electric vehicle battery factory in Turkey with South Korean battery maker SK On and Turkey's largest industrial group Koc Holding.

SK On said in a statement that the plant, which will be built near Ankara, plans to start production in 2025, with a target annual production capacity of 30 to 45 gigawatt hours.

SK On is a battery subsidiary of SK Innovation, whose customers include Ford, Hyundai and Volkswagen. The company announced last year that it plans to invest 10.2 trillion won ($8.22 billion) with Ford to build three battery plants in the United States.