Between 2023 and 2024, Ford will present two electric crossovers based on the MEB modular platform of the Volkswagen Group, a company with which it maintains a strategic partnership. The first of them will be a compact SUV equivalent to the popular Kuga, while the second will be a kind of “coupé” version of his brother. Everything indicates that the most sporty model will recover the classic name, Capri.
These vehicles, which will be built in Cologne, Germany, will be closely related to the Volkswagen ID.4 and ID.5. The general manager of Ford Model e (the brand’s electric vehicle division) in Europe, Martin Sander, has posted on Twitter a preview of the compact SUV, whose aesthetics will be directly inspired by the Explorer. Ford of Europe for its part has shown a second teaser of the vehicle in the shadows.
Compared to the Volkswagen ID.4, Ford’s proposal will be distinguished by having a flatter and more horizontal hood. The profile of the car will be quite square, reminiscent to some extent of the Bronco Sport SUV, which will allow it to distance itself from its future “coupé” derivative, which will boast a fastback-type side line.
Just as the electric Puma (2024) will indirectly replace the Fiesta (whose production will stop in the middle of next year), these two compact crossovers will do the same with the Focus, which will disappear in 2025. Ford is already looking for a buyer for the plant from Saarlouis (Germany), from whose lines the popular hatchback currently comes out.
Ford will have a more American European range
Taking advantage of the rapid transformation that the European market is undergoing, Ford has decided to radically change its strategy in the old continent, emphasizing its American identity and its “adventurous spirit”. From now on, the company’s offer will be much more North American.
Ford’s range will be divided into four families: Urban Escape, to which the Puma will belong; Active Adventure, where the Explorer will be framed; Ultimate Outdoor, which will include the Ranger pick-up; and Wild Performance, with sports cars like the Mustang. This will lead to the disappearance of indigenous products such as the Mondeo, the S-Max, and the Galaxy, in addition to the aforementioned Fiesta and Focus.
“We are taking the opportunity to completely reposition ourselves. Our future models will be more American and from 2030 they will be all-electric”, Christian Weingaertner, head of marketing for Ford Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, recently explained. According to Ford’s internal estimates, its customers are increasingly demanding more iconic, genuinely American products.
