Ford is getting serious about Europe again. At a meeting with European partners and dealers in Salzburg, the American manufacturer presented an ambitious vision for the next three years. This is also urgently needed, as Ford's market share in Germany is only 3,3 percent. In addition, production of the popular Focus model will end at the end of 2025.
The plan is based on seven new vehicles, a digital ecosystem for businesses and a global “Ready-Set-Ford” brand focused on core values: Work, Performance and Adventure. This strategy runs on two parallel tracks to not only maintain market share but also return to growth in one of the world’s most challenging automotive markets.
The first pillar strengthens the Ford Pro commercial vehicle segment, which has been the market leader in Europe for eleven consecutive years. This range is now complemented by the Ranger Super Duty – the most extreme version of the pick-up, which has also been the best-selling in Europe for eleven years. Developed for the toughest applications such as emergency services, forestry, mining and military, it offers a gross vehicle weight of 8 tonnes, up to 4,5 tonnes of towing capacity and almost 2 tonnes of payload.
Reinforced suspension, underbody protection and increased ground clearance are standard. Its urban equivalent is the Transit City: a fully electric delivery van for city fleets. It will be available in three versions by the end of 2026 – including a chassis version for individual bodywork – and is a direct response to the increasing number of environmental zones.
The second program will revitalize the passenger car segment by the end of 2029 with five new models with flexible drive systems (multi-mode drive). All will be built in Europe and their appearance will reflect the brand's more than 100-year rally tradition. A new European member of the Bronco family, a compact multi-energy SUV (from 2028 at the Valencia plant), a sports electric car in the B segment (probably a version of the Renault 5), a small urban electric SUV in the same design style and two more multi-energy crossovers by 2029 are planned.
“For smaller models, we have already announced that we will use Renault’s Ampere platform. It is crucial that the vehicle built on this platform, says Ford: it will have a Ford design – both inside and out – offer all the Ford experiences on board, be equipped with Ford accessories and also have Ford’s dynamic driving experience.”
“All the adjustable elements – such as shock absorbers, suspension, steering ratio and so on – will remain true to the character of the Ford brand. Our engineers ensure that the vehicle drives and behaves like a real Ford with real rally DNA,” said Christian Weingärtner, general manager, Passenger Cars, Ford of Europe. The collaboration with Renault also means the possibility of exploiting synergies in production facilities: “These two products, which were developed together with Renault, are produced in a Renault factory, as mentioned earlier, on the Ampere platform. The main reason for this is that in the smaller segments, due to the enormous pressure on costs, economies of scale are crucial.”
Ford reiterates its commitment to zero-emission mobility, but has a clear message for European institutions: regulatory targets must be aligned with real consumer demand. Overly ambitious and accelerated targets risk slowing the renewal of the existing fleet, which would have the opposite effect on overall emissions.
The manufacturer is therefore calling for greater openness to transitional technologies such as plug-in hybrids (PHEV) and range-extended electric vehicles (REEV), and for targeted support for small businesses struggling with inadequate charging infrastructure and slow grid connections for their fleets.
