According to the Motor One report, the Ford Motor Company recently announced that it will lay off 4,000 people from its workforce in Europe. This decision is taken while the American car manufacturer has been facing a significant decline in sales in the green continent in recent years. A more detailed analysis of this decision shows that a combination of internal and external factors of the automotive industry in Europe brought Ford to this point.
One of the main reasons for the decline in Ford sales in the European continent is the decision of the American car manufacturer to stop the production of its popular models such as Mondeo and Festa. The mentioned cars had taken a large share of the European market for years, and stopping their production will deal a severe blow to Ford’s product portfolio.
In fact, by stopping the production of its popular models in the European continent, Ford tried to focus on crossover and electric cars; But as it turns out, this bet has not been successful so far, and a review of general policies at Ford is in order.
In addition to domestic factors, the conditions of the car market in Europe did not work in favor of Ford, and the strict environmental regulations and the lack of economic certainty and the decrease in demand for electric cars are all among the problems that automakers face in this continent. Statistics show that overall car sales in Europe have decreased by 6.1% in recent years, and this decrease reaches 17.9% for Ford. These statistics clearly show that Ford’s problems go beyond the problems in the European market.
Ford blames governments and politicians for the decline in electric vehicle sales. This company believes that the lack of supporting policies for electric cars and charging infrastructure is one of the main reasons for the decrease in demand for these types of cars in Europe. However, experts believe that Ford cannot blame all its problems on external factors and should review its internal decisions as well.
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In recent years, Ford has invested heavily in the development of electric vehicles. Models like Capri and Explorer, which are built on Volkswagen’s MEB platform, are among Ford’s new products in this area. However, it is not yet clear whether these products can be a suitable replacement for Ford’s previous popular models and help revive the company’s overall sales in the competitive European market.
In general, Ford’s decision to reduce the number of employees in Europe informs about the big and complex problems that the company is facing; So that a series of wrong internal decisions and inappropriate market conditions have brought Ford to this situation. To get out of this crisis, Ford needs to seriously revise its plans and strategies. Due to the continuous changes in the car market, the products and services of this company must also change and adapt to the new conditions.
