VW brand in March unveiled the ID2all concept for an affordable small battery-electric car that the automaker aims to sell for less than 25,000 euros.
Ford exited the small car market in Europe after the costs of meeting ever-stricter emissions standards made small cars uneconomic for the company.
“Smaller vehicles are smaller margin. We do not have the scale of the Volkswagen Group or Stellantis in Europe,” Sander said. “Small vehicles like Fiesta are not the heartland of Ford Motor Company.”
Global EVs built in Spain
Ford is focusing its European electric aspirations on the company’s second-generation EV platform that will debut in the U.S. in 2025 as a pickup and seven-seat SUV.
The platform will be localized for Europe in Ford’s factory in Valencia, Spain, with European derivatives of global cars.
“Our first priority is to get our own platform and our own technology to Europe, because I really believe we are building a very, very competitive platform,” Sander said.
With its own models built in Spain, Ford will balance the needs of European buyers with cost effectiveness.
“It’s easy to spin off a derivative with very limited investment in order to make it a little more suitable for a certain part of the world. That is clearly part of our plan,” Sander said. “But we will not create a [passenger] vehicle only for Europe.”
Ford’s partnership with VW Group includes building for VW brand a version of the Ranger pickup that VW sells as the Amarok.
Ford will also build a version of its upcoming Transit Custom light commercial van for VW called the Transport. VW is building a passenger version of its Caddy compact van for Ford.
The MEB-based Explorer will start at under 45,000 euros. A second VW-based model that Ford describes as a sports crossover will also go on sale next year.
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