Ford of Europe is not doing well. Last year, the Blue Oval moved 426,307 cars in the 27 countries that make up the European Union, plus the United Kingdom, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. That’s 87,174 fewer vehicles than the year before, causing the brand’s market share to drop to just 3.3 percent. Through the first three months of 2025, demand fell by 1.9 percent compared to the January–March 2024 interval.
Once a force to be reckoned with, Ford no longer has the Mondeo or Fiesta in its lineup. Later this year, the Focus will be dropped as well. How is the company addressing a shrinking portfolio? By adding EVs resulting from its tie-up with Volkswagen. Europe’s Explorer is a reskinned ID.4, while the Capri is essentially an ID.5 underneath. More badge-engineered products could follow, according to a statement from VW’s sales and marketing boss, who was Ford of Europe’s boss until a year ago.
Martin Sanders told Auto Express the agreement between the two brands has been “very, very, very successful.” He also hinted at a broader collaboration that could include additional models: “[We] do not want to rule out that there are future opportunities here to share technology again.” This raises speculation that VW Group’s upcoming MEB Entry platform could underpin a small electric car that Ford might sell in Europe.
It’s too early to tell whether the Ka and/or Fiesta could return based on VW’s ID.1 and ID.2 electric city cars. Lest we forget, an electric-only ninth-generation Golf is expected to arrive before the decade’s end, built on VW Group’s future SSP architecture. How unusual would it be to have a Golf-based Focus? Once sworn enemies, the idea of the two compact cars being mechanically related would’ve been unthinkable not that long ago. Of course, this is all speculation, as VW remains tight-lipped about which Ford models could benefit from German engineering.
Circling back to the Explorer and Capri, let’s say they’re not exactly hot commodities. Mere months after production began at the Cologne factory in Germany, Ford was forced to scale down output in late 2024, citing “rapidly deteriorating market conditions for electric vehicles.” Automotive News Europe, citing German car market research firm Dataforce, reported that Ford sold only 1,919 Capris last year. Granted, production didn’t start until September, but the decision to cut output is hardly a good sign. Through March 2025, Ford delivered 2,511 Capris, while VW moved 3,611 ID.5s.
But what is VW getting out of the deal? Ford remains a major player in the commercial sector. The new Transporter is actually a Transit underneath, and the second-generation Amarok rides on the same platform as the Ranger. It’s worth noting that VW still sells the original Amarok it developed in-house in South America. The plan is to replace the 15-year-old truck later this decade with a new model co-developed with China’s SAIC.
This partnership between VW and Ford helps both sides achieve economies of scale without the need to merge or acquire stakes in one another. Badge engineering is as old as time, and in today’s cutthroat automotive industry, relying on alliances is often key to staying afloat.
Source: Auto Express
