Ford quietly abandons 2030 all-electric plans, commits to profitability over compliance

Despite the European Union's goal to ditch internal combustion passenger cars by 2035, Ford had previously committed to ceasing production of ICE cars by 2030. Now, however, according to Automotive News Europe, Ford is reconsidering those goals due to what it calls “softer” EV demand.

Despite admitting that an all-electric line-up in Europe is inevitable, Ford's Model e Europe General Manager, Martin Sander, says that the company will continue to offer plug-in hybrids past 2030 if there is a demand for them.

"If we see strong demand, for instance for plug-in hybrid vehicles, we will offer them."

Ford has already begun the process of converting its production facilities to electric vehicles. Last year, we reported on the end of production for the Ford Fiesta, Europe's most popular hatchback at the time, although there has been talk of resurrecting it as an EV. More recently, we have seen Ford continue the pivot to electric cars in Europe. As Motor1 reports, Ford has already started introducing a number of electric models while also killing off some of its most iconic cars, like the Focus.

When referring to the UK's Zero Emission Vehicle mandate, Sander commented that Ford would rather lose out on sales in the UK than pay massive fines or sell EVs at a loss to comply with the rules. Notably, this represents a shift in Ford's strategy when it comes to EVs, as it was famously selling its Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning EVs at losses of over $50,000 per EV — a loss to which Ford attributed over 1,000 job cuts last year.

"We are not going to pay penalties. We are not going to sell electric vehicles at huge losses just to buy compliance. The only alternative is to take our shipments of ICE vehicles for U.K and sell them somewhere else."

Previously Ford CEO, Jim Farley, had said that small, affordable EVs were vital to profitability and fighting the growing threat from Chinese EV makers — a threat that even Tesla doesn't seem confident it can best.

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