Ford Capri goes into production

While a major media event took place at the Cologne plant for the official production start of the Explorer in early June 2024, where the facilities and new buildings were explained to journalists in detail, it is somewhat surprising that the SoP (Start of Production) of the Capri Ford is not being widely communicated, especially since it is an attractive car. Production is reported to have started on Monday, 23rd September 2024. However, the production start was not announced by Ford itself, but by works council chairman Benjamin Gruschka to Cologne media. The Kölner Stadtanzeiger quotes Gruschka as saying:

"This is an important milestone for the Cologne plant and its employees in what are overall difficult times for the industry."

The launch is starting with the large battery, the large battery offered, with the smaller one expected to be orderable from the end of 2024. According to Gruschka, the Explorer "is performing significantly better than our set expectations."

The Capri has also received very good feedback so far. However, there are no concrete figures yet. The assembly in Cologne is designed for 250,000 units per year. Currently, production is being ramped up, according to reports. Starting in October, more than 600 vehicles are being produced per day in a two-shift operation.

Ford employs around 13,000 people in Cologne. Since only electric cars are being built at the Rhine plant with the Explorer and Capri, they must be successful in the market to secure the future of the site and its employees – reportedly 200,000 units per year would be needed for this. Officially, Ford has ruled out layoffs due to operational reasons until the end of 2032.

German Ford plants are also in transition beyond this: Managing director Martin Sander, who was brought in from Audi as a beacon of hope, left Ford for Wolfsburg in June 2024. Thereafter, Ford's headquarters in Dearborn decided to reduce the German executive team from ten to four people. This led to further departures in top management, such as labor director Rainer Ludwig. The new executive team consists of Christian Weingärtner (Sales), Rene Wolf (Production), both of whom were already part of the executive team, as well as newcomers Dave Johnston (Finance) and Marcus Wasserberg (Labor Director). According to the "Kölnische Rundschau," Wasserberg, born in NRW, is considered a restructuring specialist.