News
Ford Model e unit announces massive expansion of EV initiative in Europe: 7 new EVs by 2024
Ford’s electric vehicle unit — known as Model e — announced today that it would take massive steps to expand its electric vehicle project in Europe. Ford, which recently split its electric vehicle and combustion engine businesses into two divisions, is aiming to roll out seven new electric vehicles in Europe by 2024 with an annual production capacity of 600,000 vehicles by 2026.
Ford announced the expansion plan today, recognizing the accelerating pace of electrification in the European market. “I am delighted to see the pace of change in Europe – challenging our entire industry to build better, cleaner, and more digital vehicles. Ford is all-in and moving fast to meet the demand in Europe and around the globe,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a statement. “This is why we have created Ford Model e – allowing us to move at the speed of a start-up to build electric vehicles that delight and offer connected services unique to Ford and that are built with Ford-grade engineering and safety.”
Ford’s Model e division aims to take advantage of a Tesla-like business model that completely separates the electric vehicle projects from the traditional combustion engine powertrains that Ford built its legacy on. As one of the most-committed legacy automakers in the transition to electrification, Ford recently announced it would commit to a production goal of 600,000 EVs by the end of 2023.
In Europe, electric vehicles have become extremely popular, becoming a more common choice of consumers than combustion engine vehicles in some regions. Ford is turning some focus toward this market as it is likely to be one of the biggest catalysts to EV sales company-wide. Ford said it expects annual sales in Europe to exceed 600,000 units in 2026, reaffirming its intention to deliver a 6 percent EBIT margin in Europe in 2023.
“Our march toward an all-electric future is an absolute necessity for Ford to meet the mobility needs of customers across a transforming Europe,” Ford of Europe Chairman Stuart Rowley said. “It’s also about the pressing need for greater care of our planet, making a positive contribution to society and reducing emissions in line with the Paris Climate Agreement.”
Seven New EVs by 2024
With the Mustang Mach-E already having a successful introduction into the European market, Ford will also welcome the E-Transit to the region in Q2 2022. By 2024, Ford plans to introduce seven additional models to its electric lineup in Europe. It will include three new passenger vehicles and four new commercial cars.
In 2023, Ford will begin production of an all-new passenger EV. The company says it will be a “medium-sized crossover, built in Cologne with a second electric vehicle added to the Cologne production line-up in 2024.” Ford will also introduce an electric version of the Ford Puma. It will be produced in Craiova, Romania, starting in 2024.
Ford, which recently split its electric vehicle and combustion engine businesses into two divisions, is aiming to roll out seven new electric vehicles in Europe by 2026 with an annual production capacity of 600,000 vehicles. (Credit: Ford)
Ford is Europe’s top-selling commercial vehicle brand, and the company plans to introduce several new electric models of its Transit van — “the all-new Transit Custom one-tonne van and Tourneo Custom multi-purpose vehicle in 2023, and the smaller, next-generation Transit Courier van and Tourneo Courier multi-purpose vehicle in 2024.”
“These new Ford electric vehicles signal what is nothing less than the total transformation of our brand in Europe – a new generation of zero-emission vehicles, optimized for a connected world, offering our customers truly outstanding user experiences,” Rowley added.
Ford’s Cologne, Germany EV Hotspot
Ford also said that the first all-electric passenger vehicle to come out of the new Electrification Centre in Cologne will be a five-seat, medium-sized crossover. Crossovers are a widely popular body style and accounted for 58 percent of all Ford passenger vehicles sold in Europe in 2021. Ford plans to unveil the name and design of the new crossover in 2022. Production will begin in 2023.
Ford’s Cologne Electrification Center (Credit: Ford)
Additionally, Ford said its total investment in Cologne is expected to be $2 billion with the investment including plans for a new battery assembly facility that will begin production in 2024. The automaker projects at least 1.2 million vehicles produced at the Cologne Electrification Centre by 2030.
New battery partnership with SK On Co., Ltd., and Koç Holding
Ford announced that it also signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding for a new, industry-leading joint venture in Turkey with battery manufacturers SK On Co., Ltd. and Koç Holding. The plant will be located near Ankara, the country’s capital, and will manufacture high-Nickel Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt (NMC) cells for assembly into battery array modules. Nickel cells have been a focus of many large automakers transitioning to electric cars, as it is widely available. However, surging prices of the metal have contributed to a potential delay in these plans, at least in the short term.
Production is expected to start as early as mid-decade, Ford said, with annual capacity likely to be between 30 and 45 Gigawatt hours.
Ford said the investment will also be supported by the Turkish Government and will benefit large and small commercial vehicle operators across Europe, all while decreasing CO2 emissions.
EV Production Boost in Romania
Ford will also introduce an electric version of its best-selling European vehicle, the Puma. European customers will be able to purchase an all-electric version of the vehicle in 2024. Additionally, the Transit Courier and Tourneo Courio will be produced a the plant in 2023, with all-electric versions being offered the following year.
Ford’s joint venture with Koç Holding, known as Ford Otosan, will assume ownership of the Craiova, Romania plant. “We welcome this opportunity to grow our joint venture with Koc Holding and leverage this strategic partnership to better utilize our resources and know-how in Romania,” Rowley said. “Ford Craiova is today a strong success story, and we believe that through Ford Otosan’s experience and expertise in electrification and commercial vehicles it can reach even higher levels of achievement.”
I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.
Tesla has reopened reservations for its long-delayed next-generation Roadster, asking buyers for a $50,000 deposit just days before an October 1 reveal event in Waco, Texas. The move revives a reservation process first launched in 2017 and later paused when Tesla pulled pricing from its website in 2021.
The reservation page requires an immediate $5,000 credit-card payment, described as fully refundable, followed by a $45,000 wire transfer due within 10 days, which is identical to what was expected previously. Reservations are not considered final until the wire clears.
The structure matches the 2017 terms Tesla used when it first collected deposits after unveiling a prototype. Tesla has not published a confirmed retail price or production start date on the order page.
Go buy a Roadster pic.twitter.com/n7rhouAmIS
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) September 21, 2026
The October 1 event is scheduled in Waco, about 90 minutes north of Tesla’s Austin headquarters and near SpaceX’s McGregor rocket test site. Tesla sent invitations to existing reservation holders and posted a “Go for launch” teaser on September 12.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) established a temporary flight restriction over the McGregor area from September 18 through October 2, consistent with plans for a demonstration involving SpaceX-designed cold-gas thrusters. Elon Musk has previously described the optional package as enabling extreme acceleration or brief hovering. Tesla has said the event will include pricing, specifications, and production targets.
The second-generation Roadster was first shown in November 2017 during Tesla’s Semi launch. Musk promised production in 2020, with claimed performance of 0-60 mph in 1.9 seconds, more than 250 mph top speed, and roughly 620 miles of range.
Those targets have slipped repeatedly.
Tesla later pointed to 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025-2026 before indicating production would not begin until 2027 or 2028 at Gigafactory Texas. Design work has continued, with reports of a sharper, Cybertruck-influenced look replacing the original curvy prototype.
Original reservation holders who paid $50,000 in 2017, or $250,000 for the Founders Series, have waited nearly nine years without a production car. Some high-profile customers canceled. Tesla’s decision to reopen orders now, after previously shutting them down, tests whether new buyers will commit substantial funds before seeing a finalized production vehicle. The October 1 event is intended to answer remaining questions about what those buyers will actually receive and when.
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) is heading to Czechia after the Czech Ministry of Transport recognised the Dutch RDW’s provisional type approval, making the country the seventh EU member state to clear the system for public roads. Tesla Europe announced on 21 September 2026 that “FSD Supervised is now approved in Czechia” and that rollout “will begin soon.”
The decision marks a notable reversal. Earlier in 2026, Prague had declined to automatically recognise the Netherlands’ April approval, citing concerns over speed-limit compliance, traffic-sign recognition and driver-attention monitoring, and arguing that a coordinated EU approach was preferable. Officials said months of expert review, talks with Tesla and other member states, and real-world data from countries already using the system resolved those issues.
🚨 Tesla FSD heading to Czechia 🇨🇿 pic.twitter.com/mkzlM9QjrB
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) September 21, 2026
“Safety remains the top priority,” the ministry stated.
FSD Supervised remains a Level 2 driver-assistance system: the driver must stay engaged and is legally responsible. Eligible vehicles need AI4, the company’s most up-to-date hardware version. Tesla is expected to push the feature over the air in the coming days, following the pattern seen after earlier national approvals.
Europe’s rollout began when Dutch regulator RDW issued a provisional EU type approval on 10 April 2026 after extensive testing. Mutual recognition then produced a rapid cascade: Lithuania (20 May), Estonia (29 May), Denmark (9 June), Belgium (10 June) and Slovenia (7 September). Czechia now completes that list of seven.
The approvals cover only a modest share of the EU population, but they add political weight ahead of a 6 October vote by the Technical Committee on Motor Vehicles. A qualified majority, at least 15 of 27 member states representing 65 percent of the EU population, could open the remaining markets, including large ones such as Germany, France, Italy and Spain that have so far preferred to wait for a bloc-wide decision.
For Czech Tesla owners, the immediate prize is access to the same supervised highway and city driving already available in the other six countries. For Tesla, each new market generates additional European driving data and strengthens the case that FSD Supervised can operate safely under the continent’s varied road rules. The Czech approval is therefore both a local milestone and another incremental step toward a wider European launch.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has established a Temporary Flight Restriction over SpaceX’s McGregor, Texas, rocket development and test facility, a move widely viewed as preparation for Tesla’s October 1 Roadster reveal. The restriction took effect September 18 and runs through October 2.
NOTAM FDC 6/3825 covers a 1.5-nautical-mile radius around the site near Waco and extends from the surface to 10,000 feet above ground level. The FAA cited hazards under 14 CFR 91.137(a)(3) and barred aircraft and drones from the zone. Tesla’s invitation to reservation holders already placed the event in Waco, about 20 minutes from McGregor, making the timing and location more than coincidental.
A TFR has appeared around SpaceX’s McGregor Testing Site up to 10,000ft and runs through until the 2nd of October 👀 pic.twitter.com/rcZ4p4JkLm
— Niall Anderson (@INiallAnderson) September 18, 2026
What stands out is the altitude. Typical recent TFRs at McGregor for engine static fires and component tests have used far lower ceilings, often around 2,000 feet. Raising the limit to 10,000 feet is unusually high even compared with some Starbase restrictions and signals operations that go beyond a standard ground-level engine test.
That extra airspace has fueled speculation about the long-promised SpaceX Package for the Roadster. Elon Musk has described cold-gas thrusters that could deliver sub-one-second 0-60 times and, more dramatically, brief lift-off. Reports earlier this year indicated Tesla planned a remote-controlled demonstration at McGregor in which the car would leave the ground with no one inside; spectators kept hundreds of yards away because of the noise.
The 10,000-foot envelope would give operators a large safety buffer even if the vehicle only hovers a short distance.
Tesla has not confirmed a flight demo. The company has only used the phrase “Go for launch” and posted a teaser image of the car on what looks like a launch pad. The TFR itself mentions only hazards. Still, closing airspace this high and this close to the reveal date strongly suggests the event will include more than a static display.
Whether the Roadster actually hovers on October 1 remains to be seen. What is certain is that the FAA has cleared a large vertical slice of Texas sky for whatever Tesla and SpaceX intend to show. Reservation holders heading to Waco will be among the first to find out if the car can do more than drive.
Tesla Roadster is available for order once again following brief hold
Tesla Full Self-Driving expands to another European country
