By Nick Carey
LONDON, May 18 (Reuters) – Ford will launch seven new models in Europe by 2029, it said on Monday, as it seeks to grow its flagging passenger car sales, fight off fierce competition from Chinese rivals and maintain an edge in the continent’s commercial vehicle market.
“Our plan is to actually grow our market share… in a marketplace that is almost fracturing in terms of the number of competitors,” Jim Baumbick, Ford’s European president, told Reuters. “We need to stand out in a crowd.”
Five of Ford’s new models will be passenger cars, including a small electric car and a small electric SUV that will be built at a Renault plant in northern France using the French automaker’s technology, and three SUVs that will come as hybrids as well as fully electric models.
The No. 2 U.S. automaker also criticised Europe’s push towards electric vehicles, saying “CO2 targets must reflect actual consumer demand” and that legislation should support plug-in hybrids and extended-range electric vehicles instead of just fully electric cars.
RESTRUCTURING IN EUROPE AFTER MARKET SHARE SHRANK
As it restructures in Europe, Ford has in Germany closed its Saarlouis plant and is shedding jobs at its factory in Cologne.
Just a decade ago Ford was Europe’s No. 4 automaker, selling more than 1 million cars across the continent, according to data from industry lobby group ACEA.
Last year, the company sold just over 426,000 cars and fell to eighth place behind Mercedes-Benz.
Ford is trying to revive its fortunes when Chinese automakers, including BYD and Chery, are expanding into Europe with rapidly growing sales.
As Ford managed sales growth of 0.1% in Europe last year, BYD’s sales grew almost 270%.
In the commercial vehicle sector, Ford has remained one of Europe’s biggest brands – though Stellantis sells more through a combination of several brands.
The company said on Monday it will immediately launch sales of its Ranger Super Duty pickup truck in Europe for use in emergency services, forestry, mining and the military.
Ford said it will also launch sales later this year of a fully electric transit van designed for urban areas.
(Reporting By Nick Carey; editing by Barbara Lewis)
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