Remember the thing about Ford and Geely discussing a partnership that would allow the latter to use the former’s half-a-century old Valencia, Spain factory? Well, according to Autocar, it’s going ahead.
There’ll be a new joint-venture (66% Ford-owned, 34% Geely) to operate the factory when the deal completes next year, and Ford’s biggest plant outside the US will be aiming for a capacity of around 500,000 vehicles a year.
Valencia now produces the Kuga only, but by 2029, it’s expected to make a new Euro-centric Bronco that will share the Kuga’s C2 platform, a new multi-energy Ford C-segment “family crossover” that will be “rally-bred” and jointly developed by Ford and Geely, as well as two Geely EV SUVs.
“The Ford product will be a completely unique top hat; this is not a reskin. We don’t do boring cars. This is a completely uniquely engineered, truly unmistakably Ford product that will be differentiated from Geely’s product,” Ford of Europe boss Jim Baumbick told Autocar.
The Bronco and new crossover are two of five new rally-inspired models (the others being two small Renault-produced EVs and another multi-energy crossover that may not be built in Valencia) that the Blue Oval wants to launch in Europe by 2029.
“We think Geely is very special and this is going to be a really special partnership,” Baumbick said, explaining that this goes back to 2010 when the Chinese giant bought Volvo from Ford. He said Ford picked Geely because of the latter’s EV and broad capabilities, and co-developing allows product differentiation and to leverage scale.
“The battle we’re in and the environment in Europe has changed forever. It’s at a new level of cost. What we’re trying to do is ensure that we can actually demonstrate the lowest possible cost while building products specifically in Europe for European customers.
“It’s no different than what the Geely team is trying to do is to get costs that they see in China actually in Europe, and collectively we’re taking choices that are congruent with made-in-Europe,” said Baumbick.
“Our goal is to make sure that we fully utilise this facility, and so that doesn’t create any fixed parameters. It gives us the flexibility to ensure that we can optimise this facility. And if you fully utilise it, it gets the lowest cost for everybody. That’s the goal,” he added.
On the Geely side, this is set to be the Geely brand‘s first European production (but of course it owns LEVC, Lotus and Volvo, which are all built there).
“We have always believed that to be truly rooted in Europe, we must be of Europe. For us that means localisation and a long-term commitment to integrating our expertise with the world-class manufacturing heritage of the Valencia plant,” Geely senior VP Victor Yang told the publication, adding that the company aims for between a third and half of its European sales to be manufactured there within five years.
“We are doubling down on our belief in European industrial excellence. We aren’t here simply to sell; we’re here to invest in local talent, to strengthen supply chains and work alongside Ford to deliver the multi-energy solutions European customers are asking for,” he added.
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eventually ford will sell 49% shares to geely, and appoint dr lee run chong to become their CEO