Ford plans to release electric versions of all car models in Europe

The American automaker Ford says it plans to release an electric version of all existing vehicles in Europe. It is not yet clear when the electric versions will be available.

Ford says this applies to all car models, for example the Focus, but also the smaller Fiesta and the Transit transport vehicle. All these models will have an electric variant, but Ford does not say when that will happen. These can be fully electrically powered versions, but also various hybrid options.

The carmaker is only concrete about a completely new model that it will release in Europe in 2020. According to Ford, this is a fully electrically powered sporty model that is inspired by the existing Mustang. Further details on this are not yet available.

Ford also announced that it will cut many jobs in Europe. Exactly how many jobs will be lost has not been disclosed, but according to the director of Ford of Europe, thousands of jobs are involved, he told the Financial Times. This is related to a loss of 213 million euros, which Ford had to collect in Europe in the third quarter of 2018. Ford employs 53,000 people in Europe.

It now seems that Ford and Volkswagen are going to tighten ties and collaborate more closely, including in the field of self-driving technology and electric cars. The supervisory board of Volkswagen reportedly approved the cooperation on Friday, the German Handelsblatt reported. Volkswagen has not yet commented; More information is expected to be announced next week, perhaps during the Detroit auto show. The collaboration would not come close to a merger and for the time being relatively limited. Originally, the talks would have focused purely on commercial vehicles, but the collaboration would now also extend to other divisions.