It’s uncertain what the future holds for the Saarlouis plant.
The Ford Focus has always trailed behind the VW Golf but the compact Blue Oval model was a great success story. 2022 is not one of those years, as demand in Europe dropped by 28.3 per cent to 27,151 units through May, according to data DataForce. This data was cited by Automotive News Europe. A new report claims that the Saarlouis plant, where it is made, has a surplus workforce.
ANE’s sister magazine Automobilwoche cites Markus Thal, works council boss, saying that German factory output will be reduced significantly after August 29. Ford decided to invest $2B in European electrification and hasn’t announced any investments at Saarlouis. This gives you an idea of the dire situation for the Focus line. With the Cologne plant benefiting from the earlier in the year funding, the Craiova plant is also preparing for Ford’s all-electric 2030 passenger vehicle portfolio on the Old Continent.
Automobilwoche reports that the future of the Saarlouis plant will be decided by the end of this month. Ford’s corporate website states that the 2,96-acre plant, which was established in 1970, currently employs 6,190 people to build the Focus and the spicy ST derivative. Sales have been severely affected by long delivery times due to supply shortages. I know from personal experience that the ST wait time can reach 12 months. The main problem is the absence of SYNC4 systems, which are manufactured in war-torn Ukraine.
We mentioned the Golf at the beginning. However, the VW hatchback/wagon duo have also seen better days. DataForce crunched the numbers, and they show that deliveries dropped by 25.3 percent at 56,805 units. For as long as we remember, the Golf has been the #1 selling vehicle. However, in the first four months, it was outsold in sales by the Dacia Sandero (62 271) and Peugeot208 (68156).
The sister model Skoda Octavia saw a huge 44.7 percent drop to 33,024 vehicles. While the SEAT Leon did not even make the top 50, it suffered a significant decline of 44.7 percent. The demand for the more expensive Audi A3 fell by 11.9 percent, to 35.350 vehicles.