Ford Puma 2024

Electric

Ford announces its electrification plans, including spinning off two new cars from VW's ID range

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Ford has fleshed out its plans for an electric future in Europe. They involve a full-battery Puma in 2024, and a couple more EV crossovers in 2023 and 2024 to fit between the Puma and Mustang Mach-E.

Those two middle cars will be based off the VW MEB electric platform. Ford is categorising them as a 'medium-size crossover' and a 'sport crossover'. Think VW ID.4 and ID.5 then.

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But they won't be VW clones. Ford of Europe boss Stuart Rowley says they'll be "highly differentiated and the sort of car only Ford can do… they'll look like Fords, drive like Fords and have a unique ownership experience" with Ford software. Given some of the software issues in the VW cars, that's probably a good thing.

The Puma is already Ford's best-seller in Europe, so an electric version is likely to tumble out of the door. Rowley says that nine out of 10 Mustang Mach-E buyers in Europe are new to Ford, so this EV commitment should help reposition Ford.

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Also coming to the lineup are electric Transits. There'll be three sizes of electric vans and the smaller two will field Tourneo people-carrier versions. The two-tonne electric Transit is already in launch phase. The smallest of the them, the Courier and Tourneo Courier, will be a new generation. It's based off the same platform as the Puma.

Ford says by 2030 all the cars it sells in Europe will be electric. For vans, it's 2035. The manufacturing is claimed to be going CO2 neutral in Europe by 2035, including from suppliers and logistics. "It's what consumers and society expect of us," says Rowley.

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In 2024 Ford will start building batteries in Germany for the mid-size crossovers. Today Ford also signed an agreement to build van batteries in Turkey, making 30-45GWh of batteries a year.

The Fiesta and Focus won't be directly replaced. Rowley points out they've just been facelifted but has "nothing further to announce". That's pretty clear. Less than three more years, give or take.

The Kuga sells as a PHEV and likely has a lifetime to transition toward the mid-size EV crossovers. The Ecosport dies, unlamented by us, late this year.

It all means fewer sales overall, with more emphasis on selling services not hardware. Ford is basically chasing profit not sales, and inevitably at least one factory in Europe will close and people will lose their jobs.

However engineering of global vans will continue at Dunton in Essex – "that's hugely important" says Rowley. Electric powertrains will be built in Halewood, Merseyside. The Dagenham plant in Essex builds diesel engines, and there will be demand for those until 2035.

Ford has announced that its best-selling Puma will be available as an EV from 2024. 

The Puma crossover is now Ford’s best-selling car in Europe, with more than 130,000 examples being sold last year. It launched in 2019 with Ford’s first mild-hybrid powertrains, and this new electric model is set to be sold alongside hybrid versions. The EV is expected to be produced on the same platform as the current car too. 

Alongside the Puma, Ford has today said that it will launch a further six electric models by 2024 – including two more cars and four commercial vehicles.

In 2023, Ford has confirmed it will introduce an ‘all-new electric medium-sized crossover,’ with the firm targeting a range of 500km (310 miles). This is likely to be the first Ford EV built on the Volkswagen Group’s MEB platform, as the two automotive giants collaborate to help share costs. This new electric model is set to be revealed later in 2022. 

A second EV – set to be a ‘sports crossover’ – is due in 2024 and will be produced at the brand’s Cologne Electrification Centre in Germany. 

Moving over to electric vans, while Ford is soon launching the E-Transit as its first commercial EV, in 2023 the brand’s line-up will expand with EV versions of the next-generation Transit Custom (the best-selling van in the UK by some margin) and the Tourneo Custom passenger model. In 2024, electric versions of the Transit Courier and Tourneo Courier will follow.

Stuart Rowley, chair, Ford of Europe, said: ““Our march toward an all-electric future is an absolute necessity for Ford to meet the mobility needs of customers across a transforming Europe.

“These new Ford electric vehicles signal what is nothing less than the total transformation of our brand in Europe – a new generation of zero-emission vehicles, optimised for a connected world, offering our customers truly outstanding user experiences.”

By 2026 Ford is planning to sell 600,000 electric cars annually in Europe, with the brand aiming to go carbon-neutral across its operations by 2035.

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