Nearly 50 years of classic car series discontinued! Ford will close the Fiesta production line to make way for electrification
Tencent Motors, July 3, last October, Ford Motor announced that as one of its longest-operating and popular models in Europe, the Fiesta small hatchback will be discontinued in the summer of 2023.
According to Autocar, the timing has been finalized, and the last Ford Fiesta car will roll off the assembly line at the Cologne plant on July 7.
Ford cut Fiesta to make room for the production of the Ford Explorer electric SUV. Martin Sander, Managing Director of Ford Europe, said: "We have decided to produce a large series of electric vehicles in Cologne. ”
The Cologne Electric Vehicle Center is Ford's first carbon-neutral plant, and after investing $2 billion, is expected to start production of the Ford Explorer electric SUV this year. The car will be based on Volkswagen's MEB electric platform and will be Ford's first all-electric passenger car to be produced in Europe.
Ford hasn't disclosed details of the powertrain, but it says the Explorer EV offers a "responsive and refined" rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive battery powertrain that will provide DC fast charging times from 10 to 80 percent, as low as 25 minutes.
Ford plans to launch nine all-electric vehicles in Europe by 2024, including the Puma EV, the second electric crossover model based on Volkswagen's MEB platform, which is scheduled to be officially released in 2024.
Ford expects to sell 600,000 electric vehicles annually in Europe by 2026 and only elect pure electric EVs in the European market from 2030.
Reviewer: Lemon