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
I see Farley had his bi-weekly hand-wringing about being out-Capitalism’d by a Communist country and how that should now be our problem.
Money is extremely tight everywhere for 99% of the population, and people, especially in a European society, which has a much friendlier infrastructure than the US, are realizing that car ownership is not really the end-all-be-all it’s been advertised. Many of them can survive without owning a car, and for those who do need a car, why would they pay considerably more for a vehicle from a legacy manufacturer when something from a Chinese automaker does the job just as well, if not better, looks cool, and costs significantly less?
The legacy automakers went absolutely hog-wild after Covid inflating prices, stifling innovation, and generally giving people more for less. They were just so obsessed with those short-term profits that they left the market wide-open for someone to swoop in and take advantage of their short-sightedness, and the Chinese were absolute primed to do that.
I guess I just find some schadenfreude in seeing giga-companies like Ford circling the wagons and giving these panicked speeches about the end times because they stand to make less money. It sucks that their failures are going to impact the working class, but what’s new? I think the automotive market has been due for a reset for a long time and we’re starting to see that happen.
Really excellent meme choice for the top shot there.
Eff it Falcon and Fairlane.
Automotive brand loyalists remind me a lot of sports team loyalists. Sure, the Dallas Cowboys were a great team 40 years ago, but aside from the name, the current team has nothing to do with the team of 40 years ago.
Beetle and GTI and Scirocco were great cars, but I’m not buying a modern VW based on that. I had a 2025 Jetta as a rental a few months ago, and it was a competent car, but there’s nothing there that makes it better than a Corolla, and I know which company I’d rather buy from.
Word. My ’93 Sentra SE-R is from the peak Nissan era, but that era has been gone for 25 years.
Jerry Jones sold his soul and the team’s future for the 90’s dynasty team and everyone still believes they are going to come back.
I sat in a Fiat Topolino at the LA car show the other weekend. The company rep standing next to it was amusing himself by presenting show-goers inside with a puzzle: how do you get out? Almost no one figured it out (myself included) and once he finally told you about the little straps to pull, you’d exit the car and join him in torturing the next people to sit in the thing and close the doors. It was the show’s final day, so maybe that had something to do with it?
It was cute, and for me it’d actually suffice for runs around town, but if they bring it to America, they’re going to sell exactly none of these outside of areas where golf carts can legally be driven on the road. The experience of sitting in the thing was only marginally better than being inside a Think City. A thin plastic box. I’m not anti-plastic box, and again, I’m one of the very few Americans who could actually make this work as a daily (semi-retired/work at home, 95% of my driving within a few miles of home, etc…) and I’ve had a roof full of solar panels for 25 years (to charge it) and still, I’m not hankering for this thing.
Ford: please just import the Renault 5 EV and somehow manage to sell it without dealer markups, and I’ll take back most of the disparaging things I’ve said about you this year. If you bring us the new Twingo, and people can actually buy it for about $22K, I will sing your praises… I don’t care what you call it: the “Ford Fester” is fine. Fistula? Fatigue? Felch? Really, I don’t care, just bring it here. 😉
Can we not somehow get rid of auto dealerships altogether? Just buy the car you want for MSRP via a manufacturer website and pick up/get service (if you must) at the dealership? Since they’d be making less money, the dealerships ought to get a break from the manufacturer some other way. I dunno… I’m not in that business. But I’ve been inside enough auto dealerships over the past 40 years to comfortably say that I hate them all.
Despite me actually running it through a pasta strainer, my coffee is lumpy and chewy this morning (I could’ve sworn it was OK to use confectioner’s sugar if need be) and my bagel is burnt (my toaster keeps the toast inside for a different amount of time each time I use it).
Not off to a great start, this Tuesday. 🙁
VW is already using another American company for EV shit (Rivian), so why can’t Ford pick another European partner?
Have a universal small car program, or at least harmonize them. Europe’s small car shit, a similar American program, and Japan’s kei car standards.
If Japan revised their kei standards to be a little bigger, they could have universal appeal to export, and the other markets would get Japanese reliability in their city cars.
145″ length
65″ width
78″ height (current kei limit 2m, so keep it the same)
engine up to 820cc (50 cubic inches) – the 660cc limit hasn’t been updated since 1990
Other markets could harmonize this new size too
And remember, the 63hp kei limit isn’t an actual law, but rather a gentlemen’s agreement between the Japanese car companies. The Caterham 7 has 80 hp and qualifies as a kei car (it uses a Suzuki 660cc turbo)
Not the first time Ford and Renault have collaborated.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Corcel
I don’t hear Mogwai at all. But I am liking what I am hearing. Want to guess where I first heard Mogwai? Yup, once again the Life is Strange soundtrack.
So, Chief Technology Officer of Mercedes-Benz Group Auto Group and Chief Technology Officer? I’ll assume this came from Google translation?
Anyway, TBQ: Maybe Ford starts over with the Capri. Try again, Ford. Try harder.
You mean the Fiesta, Focus, Puma, and Kuga.
What you listed are decidedly not “Bread and butter” vehicles.
Yeah, the trucks are the loaf and lard vehicles 😛
Given the implosion of Ford’s sales in Europe (down 60% in a decade) does Ford have a future there at all? Rebadging is the last Hail Mary when you’re one step from the exit door when your sales are imploding. AMC says ‘Hi!’
Anyway, I would recommend using the Ford Capri as inspiration for everything in Europe in branding and badging. Not because it’s going to work per se, but I’ve not had a particularly zesty Adrian article here in awhile, and a turn of phrase like ‘paint-drinking thundercock’ just warms the heart so.
TBQ – L’Escort
VW is circling the drain. I don’t see a future for them. I predict they don’t exist in 10 years, or as little as 5. At least not without major change and a complete and total clearing of leadership. Porsche is the only thing they have worth a damn, hopefully they don’t destroy them trying to keep VW alive.
I understand this is a bold statement, but its what I see coming. They suck through and through. If you have the ability to read between the lines, it’s been clear for a few years now. Despite some on here telling me “look at their billions” like that is anything special in this inflated world.
The MEB VWs might be the most depressing cars on the road. They’re just so fucking bad. They’re both ugly and overwrought, they’re too expensive, they’re completely non-competitive, and they were ground 0 for VW screaming NEIN ZE CUSTOMER IS WRONG!!!! into the void and implementing what may damn well be the worst infotainment of all time.
The ID.4 was so bad that Savagegeese refused to review it. Anyway whenever I see them on the road (and weirdly enough they’re relatively common here in DC) I just feel an overwhelming sense of despair . Like…how did you get swindled into THAT? I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed….
Anyway if you love your MEB VW and/or got a deal that was too good to refuse on it that’s perfectly fine. Do you. I drive a farting egg shaped performance crossover. But woof…if I ever pull up in a VW BEV you all need to have an intervention with me.
The simple truth is some people truly do zero research. I know someone who BOUGHT a NEW top trim ID.4 in the north east (2022 or 2023 iirc). Also got zero tax credits whatsoever, paid full MSRP. No research, no cross shopping, no understanding of lease credits, range, EV pros/cons, etc. It barely works for what it was bought to do in summer, and in the colder months, is genuinely unusable as a family car. All that and it’s average just under 1k/month depreciation.
It’s insane how miserable of a product that car is an how horribly matched it is for so many consumers. But some people still buy them, and I have absolutely no idea why. This is why I tell friends to at least get my opinion first.
I’d imagine some of it is just blind brand loyalty? It wasn’t all that long ago that VW had a Subaru-like following…but I think a lot of those people are now buying…well, Subarus oddly enough.
If memory serves, it was his first VW too. Truly no clue what the (lack of) thought process there was. Definitely helps me feel better about some of my less than stellar automotive decisions!
I may or may not resemble that commentary.
I’d argue it was ~2010’s with VW’s pursuit of the “cheap American” volume market with the Americanized Jetta, Passat, and Atlas.
And, now, with the intentional middle finger to >50% of the market of GTIs/GolfRs that intentionally selected a manual transmission.
Only VW could dream that someone accustomed to a Golf would want a Jetta.
0 percent interest seems too move them here in WI. Maybe also the Germanic roots of the area I live in. I see them and find them boring as watching paint dry. In addition VW used to scare us with their version of real colors, but even frog skin green or their urine yellow is better than the color palette they have embraced. I have said this before and I repeat: VW needs to remember that it stands for the peoples car. Go inexpensive and volume and you might survive. Also Audi is lost in the fucking wilderness, when they used to amaze us with Quatro’s and R10’s and TT’s now it is just forgettable. I’ll send them my consulting bill later in the day
Fords EV plan in Europe has never made sense to me. They have the engineering know-how to build an electric car (lightning, mach-e, ev focus, transit etc) and with all the efforts they put into Ford Model E, you would think they could put something into production. My only thoughts is the the vw partnership and this new Renault partnership are stop gaps resulting from delays in Model E execution. The problem is that every half assed solution just makes competitor EVs look better
It makes no sense that they went from having the #1 selling nameplate in the UK with the Ford Fiesta to cancelling it completely.
Step 1: create #1 selling car
Step 2: ???Cancel it???
Step 3: Where’s the profit?
Yeah… unless they thought SUVs were going to take off in Europe too but I cant see how keeping them both around or adapting the platform for future use would’ve been hurtful. Its not like the UK was the only place they were selling either.
Ford’s new badge-engineered cars should be extremely lazy, just slap some blue ovals over the indent that’s still present for the Renault badge, throw a strip of chrome across the top of the grille, and maybe, if we’re feeling frisky, add some Ford-exclusive paint options. Like Ford Black, or Ford Black.
Maybe this is how Ford addresses their reliability and recall issues. Farm out manufacturing to a third party.
What should Ford use as the inspiration for its two new Renault-based cars?
The Cortina and Festiva, save the Focus on the other names for their own internally developed small EV platform
Rebadge the Renault Twingo as the Festiva would be a good fit.
Nothing says “Quality is Job Number 1” like rebadging Renaults! Because that collaboration went sooooo well for Nissan’s quality and brand image.
I mean Ford’s quality has been absolute ass for so long now that maybe they’ve just accepted it?
Whether or not Ford has, I’m fully convinced Ford buyers have accepted it, because the reputation is VERY well known. At a minimum Stockholm syndrome has taken over.
I remember watching Sarah N Tuned do a mechanical deep dive on the Ecoboost Maverick, her saying that the transmission was beyond its torque limit from the factory, and sitting there like “yup that tracks”.
I had tried to custom order an Ecoboost Maverick before I ended up with my CX-30 Turbo and thank goodness Ford couldn’t ramp production up fast enough. I dodged a massive long-term headache not ending up with one. If Ford could make a single product reliable I’d be recommending so many of their cars to people, but all I do is preach active Ford avoidance.
The CX30 turbo is a sweet little car that’ll be way less of a headache
It’s at least a collaboration on EV platforms which I expect them to handle better than ICE. Also, you gotta remember that Nissan x Renault wasn’t a collaboration but a company carving out another…
Or AMC!
…though AMC and later Chrysler did get the LH out of it…
I trust Renault far more than Nissan.
But, perhaps, I still have a soft spot for the Renault Megane.
After having had the misfortune of wrenching on a Renault derived Nissan 1.8L, I have no trust for either brand.
Hard knowing what’s the bigger slap in the face, that your quality is below Ford’s standards, or that it’s so bad they had to turn to the French in hopes of doing better. Yikes
Renault has been on a run lately and if Ford rebadges the Alpine and brings it over here that would be a win. Since I actually owned an R5 (le Auto), I would totally buy the Ford F5 (The Car) if they sold it.
Always set goals you know you can achieve, then claim success.