Ford is reportedly now looking for a change in its EU team's leadership chain amid growing struggles in the automaking giant's electric vehicle shift and just weeks after losing a top executive to Volkswagen.
Martin Sander, the senior European executive at Ford, departed the business earlier this month to become a Volkswagen employee. As the new head of sales and market for VW, Sander joined the company. Ford is cutting staff at its Cologne, Germany, European headquarters, including eliminating Sander's post.
With effect from July 1, 2024, Ford will have four directors in Cologne instead of nine, the company said, as part of a larger "transformation of its European business."
According to Kieran Cahill, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Ford-Werke GmbH, the downsizing "simplifies" the company's management structure, but it also allows the corporation more agility as it attempts to turn around its European business.
Ford had trouble making ends meet, so the carmaker changed its EU leadership. According to the study, the new electric Explorer must boost sales. Otherwise, Ford might eventually give up on selling cars in Europe altogether.
Ford is treading carefully in the EU, with almost 98% of its income coming from the US. Its second EV built on Volkswagen's MEB platform is not far off. Later this year, Ford intends to start building its second MEB-based EV, the Explorer being the first.
Ford and Volkswagen on China's EV Dominance
Low-cost electric mobiles from China continue to dominate the EV market, forcing automakers like Ford and Volkswagen to catch up with China's EV titans, such as BYD Co.
Volkswagen, the German automotive behemoth, most recently revealed its intentions to create electric vehicles priced at roughly 20,000 euros ($21,746) for the European market. The business has declared that it plans to make its world premiere in 2027.
The ID.1 initiative was launched when top European manufacturers were challenged by Chinese competitors vying for market share. Some competitors have a 30% cost advantage over their Western counterparts.
Volkswagen announced that lowering emissions and component transportation routes would be the primary responsibility of the project's localization in Europe. At the time, Volkswagen issued a warning, stating that unless the European market was given two to three years to prepare for the competitive challenge, the industry's survival in Europe was in peril.
As part of these efforts, Volkswagen is executing cost-cutting and savings measures at its eponymous brand worth 10 billion euros by 2026.
Ford's Projected Low-Cost EV Shift
CEO Jim Farley also recently disclosed that Ford seeks to create affordable electric vehicles in the US despite its challenges in the EU EV market.
According to Farley, Ford will compete with the best in the market with its next array of electric vehicles. According to Farley in an interview, China's strategic bet on electric vehicles has "paid off so far," and Ford is trying to replicate some of the success on US soil.
Farley revealed earlier this year that Ford was "secretly" working on a smaller EV architecture to facilitate more affordable vehicles. Ford is also holding off on releasing its larger three-row electric SUV in favor of the more affordable EV vehicles.
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