A year and a half ago, chancellor Scholz was at Ford in Cologne to celebrate the opening of a new electric car factory. now it comes back,this time there is frustration rather of joy.
Colony.
Before Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) visits the car manufacturer Ford, his works council is calling for the introduction of a bonus for the purchase of electric cars to stimulate weak demand. “Models such as the French one have shown that financing can be linked to income or provided in the form of a lump sum,” reads an appeal from the central works council to politicians.Until the end of 2023 there was financing for the purchase or leasing of electric vehicles in Germany. After their abolition, the demand for electric cars collapsed.
Ford Explorer electric cars are on floors as production begins. (archive image) Image: Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa
ford Explorer electric cars are on floors as production begins. (archive image) Image: rolf Vennenbernd/dpa
Billion-dollar electricity investments
Ford relied on combustion engine vehicles for a long time and only invested in electromobility
The timing was bad as the market was in a weak phase at that time. As then,sales of the Ford Explorer,a type of small electric off-road vehicle,have been slow. Ford isn’t alone in this; other conventional automakers are also having trouble selling their electric vehicles.
In November, Ford announced massive job reduction plans that approximately a quarter of the current 12,000 jobs will be eliminated by the end of 2027.The location had already been shrinking in recent years; in 2018 it still had almost 20,000 jobs. The works council and IG Metall have announced resistance to the management’s latest cuts.
In June 2023 Scholz was a guest at Ford in Cologne. (archive image) Image: Marius Becker/dpa
The visit of Chancellor Scholz, already a guest of Ford in June 2023 on the occasion of the inauguration of the “Electric Vehicle Center Cologne”, is now understood as a gesture of solidarity on the part of the Social Democrat. Representatives of Ford employees hope that the coalition between the SPD and the Greens, which no longer has a majority in the bundestag after the breakup of the traffic light alliance with the FDP, can still give an important impetus to electric mobility.
Scholz will meet with Ford management and the works council this morning for a closed-door discussion, after which he is scheduled to speak to thousands of listeners at the Ford company meeting in Cologne starting at 10am.
The Ford Works Council is also committed to expanding charging infrastructure and “affordable” charging current so that more consumers recognize the benefits of electric cars and make appropriate purchasing decisions.