Ford plans to transform its Halewood vehicle transmission facility in the UK, in order to build electric power units—complete all-electric powertrains—for future EVs for the European market.

The company will invest up to £230 million at Halewood (including support from the UK government). Production of the e-powertrains is expected to begin in mid-2024, and initial capacity will be around 250,000 units per year.

“This is an important step, marking Ford’s first in-house investment in all-electric vehicle component manufacturing in Europe,” said Stuart Rowley, President, Ford of Europe. “It strengthens our ability to [reach our goal of] 100 per cent of Ford passenger vehicles in Europe being all-electric and two-thirds of our commercial vehicle sales being all-electric or plug-in hybrid by 2030. We also want to thank the UK government for its support for this important investment at Halewood.”

“We’re delighted the company has decided to make this important investment at Halewood, helping to safeguard Ford jobs at the site into the future,” said Kevin Pearson, Unite Union Convenor, Halewood. “The decision recognizes the experience, commitment and competitiveness of our world-class workforce.”

Ford has recently announced several other initiatives to raise its electric game in Europe. It plans to invest $1 billion to modernize its vehicle assembly facility in Cologne, Germany, the home of Ford of Europe. “The investment will transform the existing vehicle assembly operations into the Ford Cologne Electrification Centre for the manufacture of electric vehicles, our first such facility in Europe. Our first European-built, volume all-electric passenger vehicle will roll off Cologne’s production line in 2023.”

Ford Otosan, a joint venture in Turkey, will begin building the all-electric E-Transit in 2022, and will produce an all-electric version of the next-generation Transit Custom, beginning in 2023, at its manufacturing facility in Kocaeli, Turkey. A new light commercial vehicle being built in Craiova, Romania, also will include an all-electric derivative beginning in 2024.

Source: Ford