Ford (F) Opens First Carbon-Neutral Assembly Plant in Cologne
Ford Motor Company F opened Cologne Electric Vehicle Center, its first-ever carbon-neutral assembly plant in Germany, to manufacture new-generation electric passenger vehicles.
The legendary automaker made a massive $2 billion investment to turn its historic plant in Niehl, Cologne, founded in 1930, into a high-tech production facility. The facility is spread across an area of 125 hectares and is highly efficient. It is equipped with a brand-new production line, battery assembly and state-of-the-art tooling & automation and has an annual production capacity of more than 250,000 EVs.
Ford’s fourth EV, the electric Explorer, a remake of the automaker’s iconic and best-selling Explorer SUV, unveiled in March, will be the first electric vehicle to be produced in the facility, followed by a sports crossover EV.
With the inauguration of a carbon-neutral assembly plant in Germany, Ford has inched closer to its commitment to achieving carbon neutrality across its entire European footprint of facilities, logistics and direct suppliers by 2035.
Bill Ford, executive chairman, Ford, referred to the facility as one of the most efficient and environmentally responsible plants in the entire industry.
A Resilient and Sustainable Manufacturing Hub
Ford’s old plant in Cologne produced more than 18 million cars over a period of 90 years. With the new Cologne EV Center, Ford refined auto manufacturing by implementing advanced technologies to meet customers’ demand for zero-emission mobility, said Martin Sander, general manager of Ford Model e Europe.
The Cologne EV Center is equipped with self-learning machines and autonomous transport systems and implements big data management in real-time to improve the efficiency of the production processes.
Ford is incorporating new cognitive and collaborative robots and augmented reality solutions to support its employees and improve efficiency and data exchange with other plants to share experiences in real-time.
Leading the Charge Toward Carbon Neutrality
In order to deliver on its commitment to building a more sustainable, inclusive and equitable transportation future, Ford will cut down on energy use and emissions in the Cologne EV Center. The energy required to operate the facility is going to be carbon neutral.
The local energy provider to the plant is planning to cut down their operating emissions for heat delivery by nearly 60 percent in 2026. By 2035, the provider is planning to eliminate these emissions.
Sander also said that Ford’s engineers devised the facilities and processes to maximize efficiency and minimize environmental impact, helping the automaker become carbon neutral in Europe and supporting their global decarbonization plan.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
F currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Some other top-ranked players in the auto space are General Motors GM, Stellantis N.V. STLA and Wabash National WNC, all of which carry the same rank as F.
General Motors is one of the world’s largest automakers. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GM’s 2023 sales indicates year-over-year growth of 4.5%.
Stellantis, an Italian-American automaker, is one of the noted names in the auto space. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for STLA’s 2023 sales indicates year-over-year growth of 13.4%.
Wabash is one of the leading manufacturers of semi-trailers in North America. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WNC’s 2023 sales and earnings indicates year-over-year growth of 12% and 90.7%, respectively.
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