In fact, Ford urges European governments, unions and stakeholders to work together to support the transition to electric mobility. The historic US manufacturer has mainly identified two problems: the misalignment between regulations on CO2 emissions and (low) consumer demand for electric vehicles; lack of a clear political agenda to advance e-mobility in Europe and Germany. Finally, the American manufacturer appealed to the need for clear policies: incentives for consumers, investments in cost infrastructure, flexibility in emission regulations and reduction of production costs.
Minister Urso: “The crazy European rules are to blame”
The Minister of Industry and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, spoke about Ford’s crisis. For the automotive sector “the problem is in Europe and in the crazy rules it has imposed on its businesses and its jobs”, said the Minister of Industry and Made in Italy during the question time to the House. «Ford plans to cut 4 thousand workers in Europe, 3 thousand in Germany alone», and «Volkswagen has already announced that it will close 3 of the 10 plants in Germany. Tens of thousands of employed workers and engineers have been dismissed or are going to be fired in European factories”, recalled the minister, pointing out that it is for this reason that “we have explained with The Czech Government position paper which will change the course, confirming the increasingly difficult, ambitious and challenging 2035 goals.” The paper “will be presented on November 28 and we hope it will be shared.” Otherwise, companies in the car sector could be fined up to “15 billion euros (or heavy cuts in thermal car production, ed.), a boulder that will crush the European car sector”, said Urso.
The reasons for falling
Ford’s is a business and employment tragedy. Actually, a phone call. And now with cuts for 4 thousand places in Europe (called 4 thousand families), Pandora’s box has been opened again: the Blue Oval is no longer in the Old Continent. He is cyanotic, not breathing, almost in a coma with falling sales and hemorrhaging market share. Ford’s market share in the old continent is now at 3%, when before Covid and the launch of suicidal strategies it was against other general European manufacturers.
The reasons for this explosion are many: obviously politics have imposed electricity – which includes limits on CO2 emissions – but there are also side effects of the perfect storm of the pandemic and the semiconductor crisis. Then there’s something else: a variety of bad choices about it line upbrand positioning and technology choices. All within a strategy that betrayed the legacy of Fordism and the idea of ”democratic” technological development: the car for everyone.
Puma can’t do it alone
Once the Fiesta was over, 16 million cars were sold between 1976 and 2023, Puma alone (in October eighteenth in the ranking, with 11,104 units, -21%) was not enough to compensate for the efforts to push on the main front. Not to mention the flop of the electric Mustang Mach-E, unfortunate because it was born in the times of Covid, but of course it could not stand up to the competition. They are all familiar with ineffective communication and marketing strategies. Where did the simple and ingenious Ford C-Max, the Kuga and the Mondeo go? Moved, bringing customers to Skoda. And then the latest models Made in Köln, on the Volkswagen Meb platform. Capri, in particular, almost feels like an insult to the legendary coupé, a symbol and icon of Ford Europe for a century. Which may come to the end of the line.
2024-11-20 20:08:00
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