Ford will reveal VW-based EV on March 21

Ford will reveal its new full-electric SUV based on Volkswagen Group's MEB platform on March 21.

The car is the first of two EVs that will be built on the MEB platform at Ford's factory in Cologne, Germany. It's expected to be called Explorer Sport, with production due to start later this year.

The car will showcase Ford’s “rebellious, uncompromising, SUV heritage reimagined for the EV era,” Martin Sander, who leads Ford's e business in Europe, said in posts on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Sander hinted at the EV's name by adding the hashtag #ExploringReinvented to his posts.

Ford has said it wants to reference its American roots more in the marketing and styling of European passenger cars, referring to the SUVs and pickups it sells in the U.S.

The new electric SUV is based on VW's ID4 crossover. Its range will be about 500 km (310 miles).  It will straddle the compact and midsize sectors and compete with electric cars such as the Toyota bZ4X, Nissan Ariya and Skoda Enyaq.

The second VW-based EV, due next year, is expected to be a coupe-styled model similar to the the VW ID5.

Ford is converting its Cologne factory into an EV-only plant and will end production of the Fiesta small car at the plant in July in a move that reflects the automaker’s pivot away from smaller, less profitable segments toward SUVs and crossovers.

The company is dropping its Focus midsize car when production ends at Saarlouis, Germany, in 2025. Its S-Max and Galaxy minivans built in Valencia, Spain, will go out of production in April. Production of the Mondeo midsize car in Valencia has already ended.

Ford’s shift away from Europe’s small segments and toward EVs means it will shrink its workforce in Europe.

In February the company said it plans to cut 3,800 product development and administration jobs in Europe in the next three years, citing rising costs and the need for fewer workers to build EVs.

Sander said there was “significantly less work to be done on drivetrains” as the company stops selling cars with combustion engines.

Ford aims to make its passenger car lineup in Europe all-electric by 2030 and it expects two-thirds of commercial van sales to be all-electric or plug-in hybrids by the same date.