As of: January 29, 2024, 5:32 a.m
By: Sebastian Oppenheimer
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Production of the electric Explorer should actually have started in 2023 at the Ford plant in Cologne.
Due to delays, production of two electric vehicles will now start in 2024.
There was a record to be reported for new registrations of electric cars in Germany in 2023: According to the
Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA),
exactly 524,219 BEVs (Battery Electric Vehicles) were newly registered - significantly more than in the previous year (470,559).
But recently there have been setbacks for e-mobility: the funding through the environmental bonus was surprisingly canceled - and large car rental companies such as Hertz have also significantly corrected their plans for electric cars.
The costs appear to be significantly higher than expected - and demand is apparently lower than expected.
Nevertheless, most car manufacturers still point to electricity: BMW's Munich plant, for example, will only produce electric cars from 2027.
Ford is also pursuing the same plans with its Cologne plant.
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Production of the electric explorer is scheduled to start in June at the Cologne factory
Production of the electric Ford Explorer was actually supposed to start at the Cologne plant in 2023 - but the start-up was delayed due to a new battery standard, as the
Handelsblatt
reports.
However, the Fiesta small car in Cologne was already phased out in the summer of 2023.
Now things are starting much later: Series production of the electric Explorer is scheduled to start in June 2024, as Ford boss Martin Sander told the
Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger
.
Ford plant in Cologne: Another electric car is to be produced at the site from the end of 2024
Another electric car is scheduled to be produced at the Ford factory in Cologne at the end of 2024.
According to Sander, pre-series models will be built in Cologne for trade fairs and dealer showrooms until the E-Explorer starts up in the summer.
In addition, there is repair and maintenance work in all production areas and the workforce is being “intensively trained” to ensure a quick ramp-up after the start of production.
However, it is not possible to fully utilize all capacities - the bridging phase is “difficult for everyone involved”.
Production of the fully electric Ford Explorer should actually have started in Cologne in 2023 - but the start has been delayed until summer 2024. (Symbolic image) © Ford
Ford is not the only car manufacturer experiencing delays: the affordable VW ID.2 electric car is also delayed.
Tesla's Cybertruck was also a long time coming: Elon Musk's extravagant electric car was introduced in 2019, but the first models were not delivered until the end of 2023.