Reverse colonization: EU's pivot to EVs open door for BYD to buy Ford Focus' German plant

Ford Motor’s Saarlouis plant in Germany will be shuttered by 2025 and China’s No.1 selling EV brand BYD is among the 15 suitors looking to buy the plant.

A report by the Wall Street Journal say that BYD is competing with Canadian contract manufacturer Magna International and several other financial investors to take over the plant.

“We’re investigating various options for the future and sustainable use of the Saarlouis site. As part of this process we are in ongoing discussions with a number of potential buyers and have nothing further to add at this time,” a spokesperson for Ford told the business publication.

For the European market, BYD currently only has one electric bus manufacturing plant in Hungary.

Last year, BYD sold 1.86 million EVs, most of it in China, making the Shenzhen-based manufacturer the world No.1 EV brand.

Ford’s Saarlouis plant currently makes the Ford Focus. As part of Ford’s European region-wide pivot to a 100 -percent battery EVs-only passenger car line-up by 2030, and commercial vehicles by 2035, Ford will soon terminate production of the Focus and Fiesta.

Both the Focus and Fiesta are already struggling with thin profit margins versus more profitable, higher priced SUVs. The upcoming Euro 7 emission standards, which are too costly for small and compact cars to absorb, nailed the coffin.

The European Union (EU) will ban combustion engines by 2035, although they also said that a review will be made in 2026. Manufacturers have long warned that a hollowing out of Europe's industrial base will happen if the EU proceeds with the plan, because European manufacturers are hampered by a significantly higher energy cost versus China and EV manufacturing require a lot more energy. Also, Chinese manufacturers can continue to sell combustion engine models, unlike in the EU.

Also read: Fearing China, EU may U-turn on 2035 combustion engine ban, Commissioner wants review in 2026

The Saarlouis plant’s closure follows Ford’s earlier announcement to cut 3,200 jobs at the Cologne plant that currently makes the Ford Fiesta.

As EVs have less components than regular combustion engine cars, job cuts are inevitable. Ford is expected to announce another round of job cuts in Europe by mid-February, which in a worst-case scenario, could see 2,500 job cuts in product development, and another 700 more in administration.

Ford will be launching 7 new EV models in Europe within this decade, including some that will be based on Volkswagen’s MEB architecture.

The upcoming EVs will be produced in Germany (Cologne), Romania (Craiova), and Spain (Valencia). This will include a new generation electric Ford Puma, two more crossover-type SUVs, and several variants of the Tourneo and Transit vans.

Currently, Ford sells only two EV models in Europe – the Ford Mustang Mach-E and the Ford E-Transit.