- Ford is scaling back output of its Explorer and Capri EVs in Europe only weeks after production began.
- The SUV and crossover are based on VW’s MEB platform and suffering from a lack of EV demand in Europe.
- Both cars are built at the ex-Fiesta plant in Cologne, whose workers have been told to turn up on alternate weeks.
Ford is cutting back on production of its brand new European EVs before most people on the continent have even seen either car on the road. The long-running Fiesta died so Ford could repurpose its Cologne plant to build the Explorer SUV and Capri crossover, but both models are feeling the effect of a slowdown in the EV market.
The German factory received a $2 billion makeover to get it ready to build the new Ford EVs which are based on VW’s MEB electric platform, and was supposed to prepare the automaker for the huge EV demand the car industry was sure was coming.
Related: Ford Delays Electric Truck And Axes 3-Row EV Plans, Will Build Hybrids Instead
But the country’s Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger revealed that workers at the Cologne site have been told to work fewer hours, Ford having applied to German government to gain approval to temporarily move its staff to part-time roles. Employees will only work alternate weeks between now and the end of the year, removing three weeks from the production cycle.
“We can confirm that Ford will apply for short-time work from the Federal Employment Agency due to the rapidly deteriorating market conditions for electric vehicles,” a Ford spokeswoman told the news site. “The significantly lower than expected demand for electric vehicles, especially in Germany, requires a temporary adjustment of production volumes.”
Ford began Explorer production in June and added the Capri in September, a couple of months after the crossover made its debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. But Kölner Stadt-Anzeige has seen documentation confirming that the plant is building far more EVs than it can sell and claims that even after New Year the production lines will be forced to idle on certain days, and daily output will fall from 630 to 480 units.
The end of EV subsidies in Europe, poor consumer confidence, and discussion about rolling back the 2035 ban on combustion engines have conspired to limit demand for EVs on the continent. But Ford isn’t only suffering in Europe. Although its EV sales in the US have risen, Ford recently announced that it was scrapping planned electric SUVs and would build hybrids instead.
