Inovev forecasts 100,000 units per year of the new Ford Explorer BEV in 2030
- The American carmakers GM, Ford and Chrysler have experienced difficulties in the European market since the 1970s. The Chrysler group sold its European subsidiaries to PSA in 1978 and the GM group sold its to PSA in 2017. Only the Ford group survives in Europe with its European subsidiaries, but its production rates have collapsed on the Old Continent. In the last twenty years alone, the fall has been colossal. The production volume has thus fallen from 1.2 million passenger cars to less than 600,000 units in 2022.
- The (late) decision to switch to battery electric technology has accelerated the phenomenon, as after the discontinuation of the Mondeo and Galaxy/S-Max, Ford recently announced that the production of the Fiesta would be discontinued in 2023 and of the Focus in 2025. To replace the entire old range, Ford has indicated that it will launch six battery electric vehicles, including two produced in Cologne (Germany), two in Craiova (Romania), one in Valencia (Spain) and one in Kocaeli (Turkey).
- The first has just been introduced. It is a 4.46m long C-segment SUV based on the MEB platform of the Volkswagen ID4. This new model, called Explorer, will be produced at the Cologne site, where it will replace the Ford Fiesta this summer.
- The product name Explorer already existed to designate a large E-segment plug-in hybrid SUV 5.06m long and produced in the United States, a small number being exported to Europe. This model is expected to continue its commercial career for some time. For the new BEV Explorer, Inovev forecasts a volume of 50,000 units in 2024, then a gradual increase in sales to reach 100,000 units per year from 2030.