Ford Halewood to become EV power unit plant
Ford has announced plans to transform its Halewood transmission plant into an electric power unit facility. From 2024, it will supply green propulsion technology for all-electric passenger and commercial vehicles sold around Europe, helping to safeguard jobs at the Ford factory.
The £230 million investment in the Merseyside facility will make it Ford’s first in-house assembly site in Europe. Capacity is planned to be 250,000 units a year, and the investment has been boosted by Government support via its Automotive Transformation Fund. Ford’s power unit is a complete all-electric assembly, designed to replace the engine and transmission found in a conventional petrol or diesel model. Ford says Halewood was chosen thanks to its ‘excellent record on quality, competitiveness and the strong skills base and commitment of the employees.’ Halewood was taken back into complete Ford ownership earlier in the year, having been part of Getrag Ford Transmissions, a joint venture between Ford and Magna, for more than 20 years.
“This is an important step, marking Ford’s first in-house investment in all-electric vehicle component manufacturing in Europe. It strengthens further our ability to deliver 100% 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,” said Stuart Rowley, president, Ford of Europe.
“We also want to thank the UK Government for its support for this important investment at Halewood, which reconfirms Ford’s continuing commitment to the UK and our position as a leading investor in this country’s auto industry and technological base.”
Ford has already announced $1 billion (£731 million) of investment to modernise vehicle assembly in Cologne, Germany, which is the home of Ford of Europe. This is planned to transform existing vehicle assembly operations into the ‘Ford Cologne Electrification Centre’, which will produce its first all-electric model in 2023, using Ford’s version of the Volkswagen Group MEB platform. Ford Otsan, its joint venture in Turkey, will produce an all-electric Transit Custom from 2023, while a new light commercial vehicle is set to be built at Ford’s plant in Craiova, Romania, and will also include an all-electric version.