Ford in Cologne has to die to be able to survive

This Thursday morning, the Ford employees returned to the ligaments in the Cologne plant. The strike is over. The first in the 95-year history of the factory. Henry Ford, founder of the American Ford Motor Company, opened her personally on October 4, 1930.

Fordler had let the work rest for two days and practiced the outraged protester in front of the workshops. The factory band had gave them “I’m Still Standing” and “Miracles there is always” courage. And since nothing works in Cologne without a carnival, Stephan Brings, singer of the Brings carnival combo, also came with his guitar. He wrote a Ford love song.

Perhaps he would have better tuned the “international”, the fighting song of the socialist workers’ movement. It would have described the location on the Rhine better: “Peoples, stop the signals! Because there is a lot to suggest that the last battle started for the Ford workforce. The early end as an independent European car manufacturer seems to be sealed if nothing big happens. Not least because the American corporate mother no longer wants to take over bankruptcy protection for the European daughter. Of the currently around 11,500 jobs, 2900 should now be lost in Cologne alone.

The fact that Ford is doing badly is mainly due to the missed model policy. In the European Center Cologne, they have put everything on one card: on e-mobility. That was not unclear per se because it is the future business. But their two new Stromer, the Explorer and the Capri, flopped are clearly too expensive for the Ford Volks brand. Together they sold only 3185 times in Germany from January to April (competitors VW ID.4 and ID.5 recorded 10,407 new registrations). The models from Romanian Craiova, the Ford Puma Gen-E and the commercial vehicles (Transit, Tourneo) cannot also be ironed out of this failure. All of this is far too little to be able to survive as Ford Europe in one of the toughest markets in the world.

This knowledge is bitter for the workforce, but true. It is questionable whether there are still chances of survival. And where could you lie?

Ally: Some market experts urgently recommend that the management hook with a large partner. Just as the battered Opel did at Stellantis. Maybe with Renault? Car expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer from the Bochum Auto Institute Car (Center Automotive Research) recommends this step. Renault, which also fully relies on electric cars and sold 2.2 million vehicles worldwide, has not yet publicly expressed interest. However, experts consider a strategic partnership to be possible. Because Renault’s turnover in the important German market has just broken massively. Here the Ford brand traditionally stands for reliable cars for the general mass, as Renault builds.

Sell: The factory premises in Cologne is gigantic, since it was once very successful. Here, 200,000 vehicles could be produced a year, but the load is only 20 percent. Chinese providers may show interest and also give a new Ford worker a new job chance. So far, no negotiations with the Asians have been known, but for the old work in Saarlouis, where the last focus is running off the assembly line in November, Ford has already led sales negotiations with BYD. The large Chinese manufacturers want to produce increasingly in Europe, to avoid tariffs.

Focus: Ford Europa could possibly start again – after painful cuts. Because further places would have to be deleted beforehand to optimize the production locations. In order to get back together financially, the group would have to concentrate on its profitable commercial vehicles until further notice. You could set the Explorer and the Capri again, because they are not Ford developments, but use VW technology in an expensive license, Ford is almost only the sheet.

At the same time, Ford could try to develop its own market-friendly, profitable car for the E-age that has what it takes to build on large series vehicles such as the Fiesta. Demand is undoubtedly there. In contrast, Cologne cannot hope for models of the group mother in the USA. They are unattractive for Europeans. Ford sold the Mach-E, which is supposed to commemorate the legendary Mustang last year-only 25,217 times-throughout Europe.

Whatever happens, one thing seems to be clear: the old Ford has to die so that a new life can.