Electric car: Ford boss moves to VW after production start of the Ford Explorer
Martin Sander became CEO at Ford Germany in 2022, when the manufacturer lagged in the electric car market. He is now moving to VW.
Martin Sander
(Image: Volkswagen)
- Florian Pillau
- mit Material der dpa
The central figure for Ford's transformation into a supplier of electric vehicles is leaving the company on June 12, Ford announced in Cologne. The 57-year-old Martin Sander was General Manager Ford Model e in Europe and Chairman of Ford-Werke GmbH. He had only joined the US car manufacturer two years ago from the Volkswagen brand Audi, where he was responsible for the development of electric cars and the software and services for connected vehicles for Ford in Europe.
Sander is to become Chief Sales Officer at the core VW brand. According to Volkswagen, the company is gaining an experienced sales expert and a proven leader. Ford formally thanked Sander "for his contribution to the development of Ford in Europe", but did not yet provide any information on a succession plan.
Far-reaching corporate restructuring
Ford Germany is in the process of transforming itself into an electric car manufacturer; the Group is slowly phasing out cars with engines based on the principles of the engineers Otto or Diesel. The company is late in setting up a range of electric cars; series production of its first battery-electric car after the Focus Electric model, which was built from 2013 but has long since been discontinued, only began in Cologne on Tuesday. The Ford Mustang Mach E, on the other hand, which has been available since 2020, is a US product.
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In Cologne, where the US company has had its European headquarters and a large plant for almost 99 years, almost two billion euros have been invested in electric car production. For its electric car called the Ford Explorer, a compact SUV, Ford is being supplied with the so-called "modular electric toolkit" including battery from Volkswagen as the technical basis.
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The news was not well received by the workforce. "After this sudden change, there is great uncertainty among the workforce," said works council member Benjamin Gruschka. "The timing is totally wrong for Ford and the workforce." Series production of the new electric car had only just begun, so continuity at the top would have been important. "He is responsible for the electric business."
Ford initially plans redundancies
At Volkswagen, Sander is taking the place of Imelda Labbé, who will turn 57 next week. According to information from the Group, she is leaving her position at her own request as part of a retirement plan. Labbé herself cited personal reasons. She only became head of sales for the core brand two years ago.
The restructuring at Ford goes hand in hand with planned redundancies. Ford will cut up to 2,300 jobs at the Cologne and Aachen sites by 2030. Fewer employees will be needed in the development department. Around 13,000 people currently work for Ford in Cologne and around 200 in the Aachen research center.
(fpi)