Ford chooses Spain factory to build ‘profitable’ EVs – TechCrunch

Ford saidWednesday, the company will begin building its next-generation electric vehicles for Europe at Valencia, Spain’s plant.

The automaker saidFord claims that it chose Valencia over its Saarlouis plant, Germany, because of its ability to produce EVs profitable enough to meet European demand. The company saidThe factory could start producing electric and connected vehicles in the next decade.

The key word here is “profitable,” meaning the company expects it will be cheaper to build EVs in Spain than at its German factory. TechCrunch reached Ford to request comment on how this might impact jobs in Germany and Spain. TechCrunch will update this article when Ford responds.

“Bringing our all-new electric vehicle architecture to Valencia will help us build a profitable business in Europe, secure high-value employment and increase Ford’s offering of premium electric, high performance, fully connected vehicles that meet the demand of our European customers,” Stuart Rowley, chair of Ford of Europe and the company’s chief transformation and quality officer, saidIn a statement

Meanwhile, Ford’s plant in Cologne, Germany, will continue to serve as the European headquarters of the automaker’s battery-electric Model e business and the site of its first domestic European EV production. The automaker will also invest $2 billion in a center for electric vehicles there. Production is expected to begin in late 2023.

Ford is investing $50 billion to help it reach its goal of selling 2 million EVs per year by 2026. The automaker plans to launch three new electric passenger vehicles and four new electric commercial vehicles in Europe in a bid to sell more than 600,000 EVs annually in Europe by 2026 on its way toward complying with the EU’s 2035 ban on producing internal combustion vehicles.

It’s worth noting that the EU may not reach its lofty target by that deadline, according to Elmar Kades, the Munich-based global co-leader of the firm’s automotive and industrial practice.

“It is hard to believe that in the end, Europe will switch completely to an ICE (gas engine) ban,” Kades said. “Everybody knows that Europe is known for making compromises.”

Instead, EVs are likely to comprise just over 80% of the EU’s new vehicle market in 2035, according to the AlixPartners 2022 Global Automotive Outlook released Wednesday.