Ford has announced Valencia will be the production home of its next-generation electric vehicles, while also confirming further investment in its plant in Cologne, Germany.
Ford’s choice of Valencia isn’t a shock, given its existing Almussafes plant on Spain’s eastern coast is the brand’s largest outside of the US. Earlier this year it saw the last European Mondeo roll off the line.
The plant was built in 1976 and having been primarily focusing on internal combustion-engined cars up to now, it’ll need significant investment to help the American firm reach its European goal of 100% zero emission vehicles by 2035.
The announcement coincides with Ford’s commitment to its Cologne plant. Ford plans on selling 600,000 EVs annually in Europe by 2026, a vast majority of these will come from its German facility so it is investing £1.7 billion into the factory.
Production is expected to start next year, and will kickstart several new all-electric releases from Ford including a ‘medium-sized crossover’ and a ‘sport crossover’. There are also plans for an electric Puma to join the range. Production of the current generation Fiesta will continue at the Cologne plant and Ford stated its factory in Saarlouis, Germany will continue to produce the Ford Focus.
“Ford is investing heavily in electric vehicle manufacturing operations in Germany, and we are committed to the country as our headquarters location in Europe,” said Stuart Rowley, Chief Transformation and Quality Officer for Ford of Europe. “Bringing our all-new electric vehicle architecture to Valencia will help us build a profitable business in Europe, secure high value employment and increase Ford’s offering of premium electric, high performance, fully connected vehicles that meet the demand of our European customers.”
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