Ford backtracks plans for EV development in Spain

Ford is backtracking on its plans to develop groundbreaking electric vehicles in Spain after its forecasting for the European market has been “revised,” the company said.

In June, Ford said it would begin building electric vehicles in Valencia, Spain, with a next-generation EV architecture.

The transition would cost jobs but would help convert the company’s facilities in both Valencia and Cologne, Germany, to EV manufacturing sites. The Spain plans were not set to begin until later this decade, while Ford planned to build EVs in Cologne as soon as 2023.

Now, Ford is scrapping those plans as it has a “revised outlook for Europe.” Earlier this week, Ford announced it would slash 3,000 jobs from its North American and Indian markets. There are currently no plans for any jobs to be removed from the Valencia production plant, Ford said to Reuters.

Ford said it will not ask for a share of Spain’s EU pandemic relief funds, which would have helped the company fund projects for EV development by 2025. However, it plans to work with local government officials to identify other sources of publicly-available funding as it plans to move to an all-electric lineup by 2030.

Ford applied for a portion of Spain’s pandemic relief funds in May. It had won €106 million in the first allotment, but Tuesday, Ford pulled the application.

Ford has made several changes to its electrification plans this year. In early 2022, Ford separated its ICE and EV projects into “divisions.”

As the automaker continues to transition into a fleet of fully-electric vehicles, Ford is “changing and reshaping operations,” which ultimately led to the decision to cut 3,000 jobs.

“Building this future requires changing and reshaping virtually all aspects of the way we have operated for more than a century,” CEO Jim Farley and Ford wrote in a letter to employees, which was seen by Automotive News.  “It requires focus, clarity, and speed. And, as we have discussed in recent months, it means redeploying resources and addressing our cost structure, which is uncompetitive versus traditional and new competitors.”

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