Anna Lena Strigel, director of sales and brand management at Ford Model E in Europe, said Ford will have a “smaller, more targeted portfolio” of models in the future, and will “not just be going for volume”.
Strigel said Ford dealers are used to shifting cars at volume, so engaging them was crucial to succeeding in the brand’s transformation.
Ford is, however, in effect pursuing a ‘double switch’ by not only moving away from being a mainstream brand with a model in every segment but also switching to electric power.
Strigel added: “Our dealers have done an excellent job moving many Fiesta customers up to Puma.
“The dealers, specifically in markets with less electrification, are nervous, but when they see and drive the Explorer, they get confidence. It’s about building trust with every individual salesperson.”
Q&A with Marin Gjaja, Ford Model E Chief Operating Officer
How are you still so confident that the EV market will grow?
“Even though everyone now says it’s disappointing how slow it’s growing, we have to step back and see that the market is 10 million units a year. If you look at the projections, even in 2018 the projections said today we would be at something like three million units.
“So it has come very fast – much faster than we expected in 2018. But now it seems slow when we’re back to 10-20% growth rates, and the US, China and Europe is flat right now.
“But it will come in fits and starts as new technologies come along, new segments get attacked, new geographies, subsidies, changes in interest rate, changes in gas prices – all those things are going to change the growth rate a little bit up or down. But it’s still going to grow faster than the ICE business is going to grow.” Ford planned to sell only electric passenger cars in Europe by 2030.
Was that too ambitious?
“Yeah, I think customers have voted, and they told us that was too ambitious – and I think everyone in the industry has found that out the hard way. I would also say reality has a way of making you adjust your plans.” “We don’t see that going all-electric by 2030 is a good choice for our business or, especially, for our customers.”
