After Renault in Brazil, Geely may take over Ford’s plant in Europe

Ford and China’s Geely are in advanced negotiations for the transfer of part of the Valencia plant in Spain, according to the newspaper La Tribuna de Automoción. The deal, which involves the use of one of the currently underutilized assembly lines, would allow the Asian giant to produce vehicles on European soil for the first time, bypassing the recent 18.8% tariffs imposed by the European Union on electric cars made in China.

Under the current design of the partnership, Geely — which controls brands such as Volvo and Zeekr — would take over the “body unit 3” of the Spanish plant. The space has been idle since the end of production of the Mondeo, Galaxy and S-Max models. Currently, Valencia operates only with the Kuga SUV, with a volume significantly below its installed capacity of 300 thousand units per year.

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The industrial project foresees the use of Geely’s GEA modular architecture, aimed at electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. The first model quoted for the Spanish line is the Geely EX2 crossover, equipped with a 218 hp and 32,6 kgfm engine. The strategy echoes moves by other Chinese automakers, such as Chery and BYD, which are seeking local partnerships to nationalize production in the euro zone.

For Ford, the agreement is vital to ensure the sustainability of the unit after the closure of the Focus. Industry sources indicate that the North American automaker may even use the partner’s platform to enable its own new electrified crossover, scheduled for 2027. Initially planned on the C2 base, the model would use Chinese technology to reduce scale costs and accelerate the brand’s energy transition in the region.