TL;DR
Ford and Geely announced a JV at the Ford plant in Valencia. Ford 66%, Geely 34%. Four 2028 models, including Ford and Geely electric vehicles. Operations begin in the first half of 2027.
Ford and Geely announced a manufacturing joint venture on Thursday. which will produce electric vehicles at Ford’s plant in Valencia, Spain. Ford will own 66% of the company and Geely 34%. Pending regulatory approvals, operations will begin in the first half of 2027, with the first new vehicles rolling off the production line in 2028. In the meantime, the plant will continue manufacturing the Ford Kuga.
The joint venture will produce four models: a new electric crossover for Ford, a new member of the Bronco family and two Geely electric SUVs. The association addresses what the companies called “the new realities of the European market: intense global competition, relentless cost pressure and stricter regulation.Ford’s relationship with Geely dates back to 2010, when Ford sold Volvo Cars to the Chinese automaker and they now share a production line.
Geely stopped building new factories earlier this yearopting instead to use Volvo’s existing plants and its partnerships with Ford and Renault to manufacture overseas. The JV Valencia is the most concrete result of that strategy. Stellantis has been expanding its partnership with Leapmotor from China to Europe, and Volkswagen has said it is open to sharing underutilized European factories with Chinese brands. Traditional automakers that spent decades competing with Chinese companies in China are now inviting them into their own factories to survive in Europe.
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Time is loaded. A US Senate committee on Tuesday approved legislation to tighten the ban on Chinese automakers entering the US market. Ford CEO Jim Farley has publicly praised Chinese automakers for their speed and products while pushing to keep them out of the United States. The Spanish joint venture allows Ford to access Geely’s electric vehicle technology and cost structure in Europe, while maintaining the political distance Washington demands. Chinese car sales in the UK rose from 384 in 2015 to 285,000 last year.and Geely vice president Alex Nan said the company is “manufacturing cars in Europe, for Europe, together with a trusted partner.“Whether European regulators and consumers see it that way will determine whether the model scales.
