Ford spoke about its plans for the plant where the production of the new Explorer for Europe will be launched

At its modernized plant in Cologne, the American brand plans to produce more than 250,000 electric vehicles annually by 2026.

The American company Ford and the German concern Volkswagen in 2020 entered into an agreement on several joint projects. One of them was the introduction of the new all-electric Ford Explorer for the European market. The crossover was introduced in March this year. Its production will soon begin this year at Ford's flagship «old-world» plant in Cologne, Germany.

Photo from the Ford plant in Cologne

Recall that the American company spent 2 billion euros to modernize this 125-hectare site. During a recent grand opening, Ford said the facility was the first carbon-neutral assembly plant on the planet. As part of the upgrade, the manufacturer installed a new production line, set up a battery assembly workshop and purchased modern equipment.

On the photo: Ford Explorer electric crossover for the European market, we are talking about a sports electric crossover, whose name the company has not yet officially disclosed (it is possible that it will receive the revived name Capri).

According to the manufacturer's announced plans, by the end of 2026, the production capacity of the site in Cologne should exceed 250 thousand electric vehicles per year. In general, by the same year, Ford intends to sell over 600,000 electric vehicles annually in Europe, and a full transition to «socket» models is scheduled for 2030.

The center for the production of electric vehicles is located on the territory of the historic Ford plant, located in a block called the Nile, the company noted. This facility was first opened in 1930, with a total of over 18 million vehicles rolled off the local assembly line, including the Model A, Capri and Fiesta.

In the photo: interior of the Ford Explorer electric crossover

As we have already noted, the first electric car on this site will be the «green» Ford Explorer, designed for the European market; its closest «relative» is the Volkswagen ID.4 platform crossover. As previously reported, the model will be offered with three power plants to choose from. The starting version has a single 170-horsepower electric motor located on the rear axle, the medium version received a 286-horsepower electric motor, and the top version was equipped with a twin-engine unit, the total output of which is 340 hp.

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There are two options for traction batteries — the base crossover is equipped with a battery with a capacity of 55 kWh (usable capacity is 52 kWh), and the remaining versions received an 82 kWh (77 kWh) option. In the first case, the range without recharging is 350 km, the average version has the highest figure — 540 km, and the all-wheel drive version — 490 km.

Most likely, the new Ford sports crossover, which may give the name Capri, will be the same «stuffing» as the electric Explorer, intended for Europe. By the way, earlier the designer Kolesa.ru suggested what appearance another “green” SUV of the American brand could get.