Ford to partner with Renault in Europe to build EVs

Michael McAleer

Renault has agreed to partner with Ford to engineer and build electric vehicles for European markets, carrying the blue oval logo.

The US brand will sell small electric vehicles and vans with the French car firm in an effort to lower costs and speed up development, hoping to combat the surge of Chinese competition in Europe.

The first of the jointly developed EVs will arrive in 2028. Under the new arrangement, Ford will look after the design of the new EVs, and Renault will provide its new Ampere platform for small vehicles to develop the cars and vans, which are expected to be built in France.

In a statement, Jim Farley, president and CEO of Ford Motor Company, said: "We will combine Renault Group’s industrial scale and EV assets with Ford’s iconic design and driving dynamics to create vehicles that are fun, capable, and distinctly Ford in spirit."

Speaking to the Financial Times, he said: “We’re in the fight for our lives and our industry, and [there is] no better example than here in Europe. Together, we can create a powerhouse of light commercial vehicles in Europe. We believe this is a big differentiation compared to the Chinese.”

François Provost, CEO of Renault Group, said: "In the long term, combining our strengths with Ford will make us more innovative and more responsive in a fast-changing European automotive market

The deal with Renault is part of a wider effort by Ford to revive its fortunes in Europe, where cuts to its line-up, the expensive transition to EVs and higher production costs have caused the brand to slip down the sales charts.

Alongside the Renault deal, Ford will continue to collaborate with Volkswagen in creating vans for Europe, while Renault already has other long-term alliances with Japanese brands Nissan and Mitsubishi, along with a separate deal with Chinese car giant Geely.