The days are getting shorter. I can feel it in my bones. Things are changing. That’s ok. We don’t measure time in minutes, we measure it in difference. Europe is going to be quite different in a few months, and it all starts with Renault and Ford.
Today’s Morning Dump is going to Europe, where the buildings are old and you might have lots of mimes. Ford still has a large presence on that side of the Atlantic, but as it becomes truck-ier in the United States, it has fewer products that feel right for the market. The company hoped to have Volkswagen solve this problem, but Volkswagen may have made it worse. Enter the French.
It’s going to be all musical chairs in Europe as automakers try to deal with the rough EV transition. At AMG, this means grabbing the guy who was key to the development of the Taycan away from VW. At BMW, it means replacing the retiring CEO with the guy who helped make the i3. Stellantis already has a new boss, and he’d like the EU to give “supercredits” for small cars, instead of just focusing on EVs.
Zut alors!
The Ford-VW Deal Was Such A Miss
While Ford sells a decent number of Rangers and Mustangs in Europe, it’s not like the place is exactly clamoring for the company’s bread-and-butter vehicles like the Maverick, F-150, Expedition, and Explorer.
Sensing that it needed EVs to meet potential mandates and a broadening appetite for electric cars, Ford made a deal with Volkswagen to build cars on that company’s MEB platform. Unfortunately, those cars aren’t that competitive, and there’s not a huge groundswell of people who want an ID.4 dressed up like an Explorer, or worse, one dressed up as a Ford Capri.
The factory that builds them is already reportedly shedding workers, as Europe shrugs at these crappy VW retreads. You know what Europe wants? The excellent Ampere-based Renault 5 E-Tech. Rather than wait for VW to get its ish together, Ford crossed the Maginot Line and joined up with the French.
From Ford and Renault’s joint release:
Renault Group and Ford today announced a landmark strategic partnership aimed at expanding Ford’s electric vehicles offering to European customers, significantly enhancing competitiveness for both companies in the rapidly evolving automotive landscape in Europe.
A cornerstone of this collaboration is a partnership agreement for the development of two distinct Ford-branded electric vehicles. The new models will be based on the Ampere platform, leveraging Renault Group’s strong EV assets and competitiveness, and produced by Renault Group in the North of France, illustrating Ampere’s ElectriCity’s “state-of-the-art” manufacturing capabilities and expertise.
Designed by Ford, developed with Renault Group, the two cars will feature distinctive driving dynamics, authentic Ford-brand DNA and intuitive experiences. They mark the first step in a comprehensive new product offensive for Ford in Europe. The first of the two vehicles is expected in showrooms in early 2028.
Hear me out here: A throwback Ford Escort that’s R5-sized, and a Fiesta that’s new-Twingo-sized.
It’s hard not to read this as a loud admission that Volkswagen is bad at this, and the thought that VW would be a great partner was the wrong one. If VW had delivered a hit, maybe it would have been much easier for Ford to stick with that arrangement. That isn’t to entirely remove Ford from any blame here, as both attempts were as lazy as the platforms they were built on top of.
This is a consistent issue with MEB. It’s not a bad platform per se, but VW has continued to struggle with software and with the actual concept behind the vehicles built on those platforms. Ford, though, says it’s not a VW issue:
Farley said the partnership does not impact its agreement with Volkswagen to share vans and electric cars. “I hope you don’t portray this as lovers finding new lovers,” he told journalists.
[…]
“We have a deep understanding of Volkswagen’s industrial system. We know their supply chain, we know their cost and we understand their strength and their opportunities,” Farley said. “We made a thorough investigation and Renault came out on top, for multiple reasons, but cost is among the top reasons.”
Uh, sure. I definitely was not going to make it “lovers finding new lovers,” but maybe best friends finding new best friends.
With Chinese automakers coming, this gives Renault the chance to save money on development and Ford to get a good product. Both sides are also going to work together on vans.
Meet The New Head Of AMG-Mercedes
Stefan Weckbach isn’t a name you hear bandied about often, but he’s been an important figure within Volkswagen. He was involved with the development of the Taycan and then the Cayenne Electric. While the Taycan isn’t necessarily the longest range EV, it’s one of the best performance cars you can buy. I love the Taycan and, were I not to care about range or cost, it’s probably the one I’d get.
Do you want to know the future of AMG? It says a lot that AMG has now tapped Weckbach as the new CEO of the Mercedes performance brand:
“By appointing Stefan Weckbach, we gain an outstanding leadership personality for Mercedes-AMG,” said Jörg Burzer, CTO of Mercedes-Benz Group AG and CTO. “He combines deep product knowledge with strong strategic capabilities and brings exceptionally broad experience in developing and shaping the performance and luxury segments. He has consistently demonstrated his ability to advance corporate and product projects with ease as well as driving forward complex vehicle programs. This combination makes him the ideal choice to develop the Mercedes-AMG, Mercedes-Maybach, and the G-Class product division.”
I’m guessing more high-performance EVs.
BMW Gets A New Boss, And He Had A Role In The i3
It’s no shock that longtime BMW boss Oliver Zipse was going to retire next year. The guy taking over is a little bit more of a surprise, but also a sign that the company plans to stick to its strategy: Milan Nedeljkovic.
A total insider who isn’t a tendie for the San Jose Sharks, Nedeljkovic is expected to carry on Zipse’s plans for the Neue Klasse. Here’s a fun fact about him, though, via Bloomberg:
Nedeljkovic has overseen BMW’s manufacturing network through the shift to electric models, including as plant head for the i3 city car that debuted in 2013, retooling factories so they can build multiple drivetrains on the same line.
Heck yeah. We love the i3!
Stellantis Wants Credits For Making Small Cars
If you thought Stellantis was only cheering for the slowdown in emissions restrictions in the United States, you’d be mistaken. CEO Antonio Filosa is joining his equals at other automakers in asking for the EU to move back its EV mandate and to offer special credits for building small cars.
Stellantis, along with Renault, is calling for incentives or separate regulations to boost the sales of inexpensive small cars. While the European Commission has said this is a priority, it is focusing on small EVs, while Filosa says regulations should cover all powertrains.
“Supercredits for small cars, no matter what drivetrain, recognize that small cars will always pollute less in terms of CO2 emissions than a bigger car because of the mass,” Filosa said. He noted that Stellantis is very strong in the minicar and small car segments in Europe, and it expects a sales boost in the next few months from the launch of the Fiat 500 mild hybrid minicar and the ramp-up of small models from Citroen and Opel.
Filosa is also seeking a modification of emissions standards for commercial vans, another key segment for Stellantis in Europe, where it is the market leader in combined sales of its Citroen, Fiat, Opel and Peugeot brands. Those brands share common models, and Stellantis also builds a range of vans for Toyota.
Everyone loves small cars all of a sudden. What a time to be alive.
[Ed Note: I’m not huge into the credit system in general, but if we’re going to do them, I like the concept of small-car credits. -DT].
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
I was sleeping on “Water From Your Eyes” for too long. This Brooklyn indie band has some real X/Exene Cervenka energy. But also… Mogwai? Listen to “Life Signs” and see if you can place it.
The Big Question
What should Ford use as the inspiration for its two new Renault-based cars?
Top photo: KnowYourMeme
“A total insider who isn’t a tendie for the San Jose Sharks”
I realize few people got this joke. But that’s okay because I laughed hard enough on behalf of everyone.
I don’t get the hate for the faux Capri, especially in that run yellow/orange. Sure, they really shouldn’t have reused that name, but other than that it’s cute and looks competent enough.
Renault-based Fords? An Espace or Avantime under the “Galaxie” name, and an Alpine A110 named GT 110.
Seems like Ford’s Renaults will be a Twingo based Ka and a, R5 based Fiesta. The hardest part will be making them more compelling than the excellent and fun cars they’re based on.. it’s hard to think of why I wouldn’t just want the Renaults.
“What should Ford use as the inspiration for its two new Renault-based cars?”
Either the Focus, Fiesta, Festiva, Falcon, Fairmont, Fairlaine, Five Hundred or Model F
Or the Funderbird…
A Renault R5 has about the same starting price as an ID3, if both has the 52 kWh battery. The ID3 is bigger, has more power, charges about 5 minutes faster from 10 to 80 %…
I think Antonio Filosa looks to be a lot better CEO than I thought he will be. Small ICE cars are needed. If you have something like a Pandina, you could use it as a universal car: you could drive it to the other end of Europe, or you could use it just to get to the nearest hypermarket a few times a month. In a small EV the former would be near impossible. And lots of people need a cheap car that can do both. Plus if you have to park at wherever you can find a free parkingspace around your home, you can’t charge a BEV so conviniently.
But my idea is to completely remove cars like the 500 hybrid or the Pandina from the corporate average CO2 emissions. (The 500 with its 117 g/km is already above 93, or 95 g/km, so it does not help with bringing the average under that limit.)
What actually makes a band indie? Are all bands indie until they are not? Simple minds wants to know.
Why would the band Simple Minds want to know? Are they worried that someone will forget about them?
Lol. No, I’m the simple mind and since I’m also a bit schizophrenic, I’m counting that as plural minds…
But also, please don’t you forget about me.
“But also, please don’t you forget about me.”
Sorry… who are you? Have we met?
LOL
On a more serious note…
“Indie Band” is supposed to mean a band that isn’t signed to a record label from a large record company.
So O-Town was never actually indie? 😉
O-Town who?
One of those packaged boy bands that creepy fucking guy from Florida used to put together. He might have been behind the Backstreet Boys, but I’m too lazy to look. Anyway, he packaged O-Town at some point. I remember well because my wife plunked down some of our hard earned money to purchase their CD after hearing one of their canned doo-wop ballads or something. It’s still in the wrapper. I can’t stop thinking that I could have just lit a cigar with that money and it would have been better spent.
Wow, that band is quite dull compared with X/Exene.
I am so happy that break up meme is still around.
Can’t say about the rest of the album, but “Life Signs” feels like Don Caballero featuring Stereolab. Maybe…Deerhoof?
It’s far from clear to me that Europeans (who aren’t enthusiasts) aren’t clamoring for Mavericks and even F-150s. The general policy of their governments is to strongly discourage those vehicles by way of taxes on the vehicles themselves and gas, so we don’t get to see what their real preferences are. I’m told that anytime there’s a loophole in places like the Netherlands, all of the sudden Ram 1500s show up.
I’d like to see a study of what Europeans who emigrate to the US buy after they arrive, though even that has confounding variables that would prevent knowing the full story.
Valid distinction: not liking/wanting something is not the same as not purchasing that thing.
I don’t even think surveys asking Europeans what they want (if massive government regulation were no object) would necessarily tell the story either because this is an area where stated and revealed preferences can diverge.
As enthusiasts, we’re very familiar with stated vs revealed preferences as we post (for example) about how great Nissan Frontiers are while we’re driving to the Toyota dealership to buy a Tacoma.
The same could be said about american trucks.
If the USA wouldn’t be a protected market (chicken tax), I assume loads of cheap IVECO Daily and others would arrivive there.
Water From Your Eyes is great. The piano loop from Playing Classics has been stuck in my head for a solid couple of weeks. It’s like I’m playing Spyro the Dragon all the time. And I’m ok with that.
EV sales are very much a numbers game: range and price, specifically. I don’t see how rebadging EVs can really lead to good sales.
Rebadging is a terrible idea for EVs. You either cannibalize sales from your manufacturing partner or fail completely. They aren’t compelling enough generally speaking where someone wants exactly what a Renault can do but would rather have a Ford interior.
Torn between two lovers, feeling like a fool
Loving both of you is breaking all the rules
Made me think of the scene in “Airplane” when a flight attendant and (it’s later revealed) a long line of passengers try to calm a hysterical woman with escalating violence.
It’s no slap, Ford’s gotta’ do what Ford’s gotta’ do. VW had first crack but Volkswagen das Bett schissen.
I’m also wondering if maybe Volkswagen was just getting too proudy, that was one of Mudasir’s problems
Renault Clio seems to be the size of a Golf – or the recently discontinued Ford Focus – and it’s available as a hybrid. It would not be stupid to reskin and rebadge that, even adding a sedan variant.
Renault 5 would make of the basis of a great Escort.
And Twingo would be made into a great Festiva.
But here’s what’s dumb:
Ford Changan has had their own cars from China – and still build the Fifth Gen Mondeo, which is also available as a Hybrid. Why Ford does not bring that to the US is beyond comprehension. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Mondeo_(fifth_generation)
the Clio is a B-segment vehicle. It’s Fiesta, Polo sized.The Megane is what competes (competed?) with the Gold and Focus.
I had a brand new Clio for a week’s rental in the UK a couple of months ago. It was a good size, small but roomy enough. The cockpit felt about as roomy as my first-gen CRX does, although obviously it was larger on the outside for safety reasons. Felt nice and solid. It was well suited to little UK B roads.
And yes, we did take it to Diddly Squat Farm.
You’re wrong about the Maverick. European buyers would love to have that thing over there. Especially the hybrid.
Because four door pickups are so popular in Europe?
They may be unpopular due to taxes and fees.
According to the ones that comment in the forums and on YouTube reviews, yes. Yes they are.
Well, according to the vehicles I actually see when traveling in Europe – They’re not.
We probably just spent time in different parts of Europe.
I was in Ireland earlier this year and mentioned I had one to our tour guide/driver. He said they would love the Maverick, but it is not cost competitive. With all the taxes etc. it ends up costing waaay too much and only a tiny bit less than the Ranger. I think he said it costs about EUR 70,000 and the Ranger is only a couple thousand more.
Interesting. I remember talking to our tour guide in Ireland about how they substitute vehicle tax for house property tax and figured with its smaller engine displacement, that the taxes would be less than the larger engined Rangers.
The hybrid has a 2.5 L engine. Don’t quote me on this, but I think it pushes it into a higher tax bracket for engines above 2L.
I can see that.
I don’t know…
Sometimes I think: why does Hyundai and Kia make a shorter Tucson and Sportage? The longer version can’t cost that much more to build, while it gives more space for about the same money. Then I look at the list of best selling models in Europe, and I think: maybe Hyundai/Kia knows what they are doing.
A Ford Maverick is about as much longer than a SWB Tucson, as the Tucson is longer than a Fiesta or an i20.
That’s true, but so are the Ranger, Hilux, L200/Triton, and Amarok that they sell over there.
I hate to stereo type Germans as unemotional goobers, but they just keep fitting it. I just think back to the Monty Python commentary when the Germans wanted to syndicate their show “We don’t have a sense of humor but hear that you do”.
They have so much nostalgia they could tap into, they could have had an ID.Beetle be the Renault 5, they could’ve had a Rabbit styled Ute to compete with the Maverick. Instead we get an ID.Buzz, after 10 years, with the range and price as if it came out 10 years ago. And they keep swearing off redoing a Beetle, like why? Mitsubishi built Zeros, BMW had said their Logo was a propeller…from Luftwaffe planes!(It isn’t but they once advertised it was) Is the Beetle worse than either of those? People love the Beetle, cars are an emotional purchase, tap into that!
And their tech, just abysmal, like once the cheating was uncovered they couldn’t do any actual tech, infotainment on their MEB was borked, no hybrid tech, to the point they will overengineer their gas engines to squeeze just a couple more mpg out of instead of just slapping a basic hybrid in to get an easy 20% more.
It’s just a sad state of affairs, people talk about too big to fail, I think VW is just too big that they will fail. Maybe in future downsizing/splitting they’ll get scrappy enough again to build cars people will want to drive but for now it’s just bleh.
Germans: “We are all, culturally, engineers”
Others: “Is that a good or bad thing?”
Germans: “Yes”