The starting signal in Romania has been given. The new Puma Gen-E, the E-Transit Courier and the E-Tourneo Courier are now rolling off the production line at the Ford Otosan factory in Craiova. These are the first electric vehicles to be manufactured in Romania and exported to other European countries and Turkey. electrive was there for the kick-off.
In Craiova, sometimes a Puma, sometimes a Transit or a Tourneo hangs on the conveyor belt. And sometimes these get a combustion engine, sometimes a battery. The electric versions have a closed front, the combustion-powered ones have a classic radiator grille. Otherwise, the cars are the same; electric and combustion-powered cars are produced together on the same line at the Ford Otosan factory. The assembly process is highly flexible and only the components that have been ordered are built.
The manufacturer already opened the order books some time ago. Nevertheless, Ford is keeping a low profile on the number of pre-orders. Instead, they repeatedly emphasise that the Ford Puma has a particularly strong fanbase in the UK – it is even Ford’s best-selling small car in Europe. At least as a combustion engine. Whether the Puma Gen-E, with its 43-kWh battery and 376-kilometre range, will also be a bestseller remains to be seen.
“I would be surprised if we said we’re going to sell equal amounts of EVs to ICE vehicles, given what we’ve seen in the industry and in the marketplace,” says John Davis, Global Director, Electric Vehicle Van and Bus Programs. However, he adds: “We know our customers are interested in more affordable solutions. And I think that we’ve now got something they can choose from if they are interested in EVs.”
The Puma Gen-E is unlikely to have an easy time of it in Europe, even though the best-selling Ford model in Europe. That is because the variants without the ‘E’ are significantly cheaper. And electric cars from other manufacturers are also competing with the new electric car. A VW ID.3 with 52 kWh net or 388 kilometres according to WLTP is available for under 30,000 euros, and the Kia EV3 starts at a similarly expensive 35,990 euros – but with 58 kWh and 436 kilometres, it offers more. The Opel Frontera Electric, on the other hand, which has a similarly sized battery with 44 kWh, is significantly cheaper at €28,990.
But Ford is confident. Yes, range is “a sensitive element for consumers,” says Davis. But they re not just buying a battery, “they’re driving a vehicle that has amounts of connectivity, of accessibility, of utility and flexibility.” And that is why the ICE variants of the Puma have been successful and it will help find the right consumer for the BEV version as well.
“And to be honest, most people don’t need as much range,” Davis adds. “I know we all have an element of range anxiety. We see that in our commercial customers as well, and it’s also why we’re trying to deliver what we think is best value to our customers.” However, a larger battery would mean a higher price tag.
Ford also believes that its two new electric panel vans are headed for a successful future. The van version, the Transit Courier, sells particularly well in Turkey with a combustion engine. That is perhaps also because it is manufactured by Ford Otosan, a joint venture between Ford and the Turkish group Koç. According to Davis, the electric version could sell well in other southern countries – but he does not say exactly where the focus could be, adding that the Nordic countries, where many electric vehicles are already sold, are of course also interesting for the E-Transit and E-Tourneo Courier. But he does not get more specific in this case either. “We’re not discriminating by offering only in certain countries. It will be available widely,” emphasises Davis.
As many as 50,000 EVs will come from Romania in 2025
Davis also takes the opportunity to once again call for funding for electric mobility. “Today was a chance to talk about some of the help I think the industry needs, and I don’t think Ford Motor Company is unique in that endeavour. We need the EU governments and the local countries to help support the industry with, I think, demand-side incentives and also bringing along access to charging in an affordable way.”
It is thus still unclear how many electric cars will roll off the production line in Craiova in the coming months. However, it will be a maximum of 50,000 – if you add up all three models. Although the factory has a production capacity of 300,000 vehicles and the Puma Gen-E, E-Transit Courier and E-Transit Courier are manufactured on the same production line as the combustion engine variants, Ford Otosan can assemble a maximum of 50,000 batteries in the small Romanian town for the time being. And without a battery, there is no electric vehicle. Of course, battery assembly can be ramped up in the long term, explains production manager Dan Ghirisan to the press during a tour of the car factory, but for this year, 50,000 is the end of the line. The full capacity for battery assembly is 150,000 units.
The data for all three vehicles has already been communicated. The three new electric vehicles share a platform, which is why they can be built on a single production line. Nevertheless, here is a quick reminder of the most important data: All three vehicles are equipped with a 43-kWh battery. According to the WLTP, this should be enough for the Puma to cover between 347 and a maximum of 376 kilometres. By contrast, the passenger car version of the Ford E-Tourneo Courier can travel between 266 and 288 kilometres on a single charge with the same battery. The electric panel van E-Transit has a range of up to 293 kilometres.
In terms of price, the three are not too far apart either. The E-Transit is available in Germany from 35,400 euros, the E-Tourneo starts at 36,000 euros and the Ford Puma Gen-E at 36,900 euros.
The battery is assembled in Craiova. To this end, the manufacturer integrated a 4,200-square-metre production line into the car factory last October. The battery – Ford relies on NCM for the cell chemistry – is manufactured in three shifts. Each shift has 51 employees working on the battery alone. This means that up to 300 electric vehicles can roll off the production line in Craiova every day.
Each battery module consists of 96 elements, explains Ghirisan. These are manufactured by SK On in Hungary and delivered to Romania. The modules also undergo the leak test on site. According to Ghirisan, around six to seven per cent of the modules tested do not pass the test. However, the batteries do not end up in the trash; instead, they are taken apart, reassembled and retested.
The electric motors are produced in Halewood, England, and exported to Romania. They are also exported to Turkey, where they are used in the E-Transit Custom and the E-Tourneo Custom passenger car version. Different power levels are produced in Halewood; vehicles with 100 kW, 123 kW, 160 kW and 210 kW have been announced so far.
Ford Otosan is Romania’s second-largest exporter
At the ceremony marking the start of series production of the Ford Puma Gen-E, the E-Transit Courier and the E-Tourneo Courier, however, the electric vehicles were not really the start of the show. Instead, Ford Otosan was celebrated as one of the most important companies in the country, being its second-largest exporter.
That also explains why the history of the plant and the joint venture – and its success – were told several times. The latter was founded in 1959. But Ford and Koç have been working together since 1928, explains Josephine Payen, deputy managing director of Ford Otosan.
“At the time, Mervi Koç took on a Ford dealership in Ankara in Turkey. It was the first Koç dealership globally that was allowed to assemble Ford vehicles,” Pyne explains. “That was really the start of the transition of the journey. And Koç has grown into a huge company in Turkey.” 28 years ago, the shares were aligned. In addition to the plant in Craiova, Ford Otosan also has plants in Turkey, where, among other things, the Ford E-Transit Custom and the Ford E-Tourneo Custom roll off the production line.
But back to the plant in Romania. It first went into operation in 1976. However, it initially produced vehicles of the Oltcit brand and later Daewoo. Ford took over the plant in 2008 and then Ford Otosan in 2022. Since then, the combustion engine variants of the Puma, the Transit Courier and Tourneo Courier have been built there. And now the country’s first electric vehicles.
Ford Otosan has invested a total of 500 million euros in the plant since 2022. And as soon as it took over the plant, Ford Otosan emphasised that it wanted to play a “key role in the electrification of Ford in Europe.” The car factory in Craiova (currently) provides jobs for 6,600 people and produces 1,200 vehicles a day. 300 of these are now to be equipped with an electric motor and a 43 kWh battery. 250,000 vehicles left the plant on their own four wheels last year. The capacity is 300,000 and there is always the possibility of expanding the plant, emphasises Payne.
Around 70 per cent of the vehicles built in Craiova are transported to other countries by train. The plant even has a 12-kilometre rail network that is directly connected to the European network. To enable the remaining 30 per cent to leave the plant by truck, Romania has even dedicated a motorway to the manufacturer – the Ford Highway. It is not yet fully complete, but the Romanian Prime Minister emphasised at the ceremony marking the start of series production that everything is being done to complete the project very soon.
In addition to the business figures, the guest list on this day also made it clear how important automotive production in Craiova is for the region, for the country and perhaps also for Ford. In addition to the Romanian Prime Minister, Ali Koç, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Koç Holding, Chairman of Ford Otosan, Ford Otosan Managing Director Güven Özyurt, the Turkish ambassador and the American ambassador also travelled to the event.
The starting signal for the electric future in Craiova has thus been given. Overall, Ford now offers eight electric vehicles in Europe – the Explorer and the Capri, both of which are built at the Ford plant in Cologne in Germany, the E-Transit Custom and E-Tourneo Custom, which are manufactured by Ford Otosan in Turkey, and now an electric Puma as well as electric variants of the E-Transit Courier and E-Tourneo Courier. It remains to be seen whether the enthusiasm for the new electric vehicles will be as great outside the small Romanian town as it is there.
