Ford was one of the most important manufacturers in Europe, but has had to adjust production to demand. In practically 10 years they have closed factories in the United Kingdom, Belgium and Germany, focusing on countries with cheaper costs.
When the production of the Ford Focus ends, in 2025, the German factory in Saarlouis will have a very uncertain future, at least under the oval brand. There is no talk of closure yet, but without more models assigned, they have it complicated. It would be one more closure of many others that have occurred in recent years.
We go back in time a bit, to October 2012. At that time, Europe felt the aftermath of the global crisis of 2008 and the austerity policies to contain its effects. Ford noted the lowest demand in 20 years and announced very hard adjustmentsdividing the work in fewer factories.
In Genk (Belgium), where the largest models in Europe were manufactured -Mondeo, S-MAX and Galaxy-, the closure was announced for 2014. The production of the plant, which would have been open for 50 years that year, was moved to Spain. In turn, in 2003 the Focus was also lost by Genk in favor of Almussafes, losing 3,000 jobs.
The Ford Mondeo of the latest generation is one of the best cars that have been manufactured in our country
The United Kingdom was another big loser, as Ford announced the closure of the factory in Southamptonwhich produced the Transit van, as well as the stamping factory in Dagenham. In the British country, only the Dagenham engine plant and a technical center remained, which remain today.
Turkey was the great beneficiary of this movement, since the production of vans was centralized there in the joint venture ford otosan in Kocaeli. The Transit, Transit Custom and Tourneo Custom continue to be manufactured there, as well as the electric versions E-Transit (later the E-Transit Custom and E-Tourneo Custom).
In Saarlouis alone 4,600 people work
Ford Almussafes it was left in 2014 without the C-MAX and Grand C-MAX minivans, but instead took the Mondeo, S-MAX and Galaxy, in addition to the Kuga and Transit Connect vans. Of course, the Spanish plant had to tighten its belt in terms of competitiveness and labor organization, it had to be sacrificed.
Ford E-Transit Custom, an electric model that will be manufactured in Turkey
The production of the Valencian Ford Mondeo is coming to an end, but the news of the production of two electric models in 2025 is very positive for the viability of the factory. Several Almussafes models were DJing commercially and the workload had dropped, in addition to having supply problems.
Almussafes will benefit from the battery gigafactory in Sagunto, north of the Turia capital, a Volkswagen initiative and pending approval of the corresponding PERTE project. In turn, Volkswagen will supply batteries for its factories in Landaben (Navarra) and Martorell (Barcelona). Both manufacturers collaborate in different segments.
In addition to the factories mentioned, Ford has another historic factory in Cologne (Germany)as well as in Craiova (Romania). The latter is very recent, having been founded in 2008 and has produced the Transit Connect, B-MAX, EcoSport and Puma models, as well as 1 and 1.5 liter EcoBoost three-cylinder engines since 2012.
The Ford Focus saga will surely not continue beyond 2025, after four generations
What future awaits Ford in Europe?
To begin with, a strong commitment to the electrification. In Cologne they are going to start manufacturing a crossover electric next year, currently the only one there is the Mustang Mach-e, which is imported from Mexico. The rest of the Ford range has micro-hybrid, hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions, with few exceptions.
By 2026 Ford plans to manufacture 2 million electric vehicles a year (at least), of which 600,000 will be sold in the European market. In a matter of a few years the thermal and hybrid range will disappear, until all Fords are electric except for the Blue models, including the Mustang (until it is electric too).
Thousands of jobs will be lost on that tripsince they will not need as many people with simpler vehicles and with much fewer references. Saarlouis is in the pillorybut the rest of the European factories apparently have their survival assured (engines in Dagenham not so much) and there should be no more closures.