► Ford and Geely Auto announce partnership ► Ford’s Valencia plant will make Geely cars too ► New Bronco model built there, plus two Geely SUVs
Ford and Geely Auto have confirmed a joint venture that will allow the Chinese brand to start producing cars at Ford’s manufacturing plant in Valencia.
Ford says the new joint venture ‘secures the future’ of the Valencia plant, which has been manufacturing just the Kuga SUV for the last few years after other models like the Galaxy and S-Max were retired. The aim is to ‘pool production volume’ with Geely, allowing its Chinese partner to manufacture cars locally, and enable new Ford models to be built there, too.
Ford points to ‘intense global competition, relentless cost pressure and tightening regulation’ for what it considers to be a tough European market, with this joint venture aiming to ease those issues.
The first joint venture operations are expected to start in the first half of 2027 ‘pending regulatory approval,’ with Geely Auto securing 34 per cent of the new joint venture entity and Ford controlling 66 per cent.
As well as production of the Kuga remaining at Valencia, Ford has confirmed that its European-spec Bronco model – the one that was first announced as part of its ‘Ready, Set, Ford’ plans – will be manufactured at the Spanish site.
The bigger news, though, is that a new ‘multi-energy’ crossover that has been designed by Ford but developed in partnership with Geely Auto will also be manufactured in Valencia, launching in 2028. Like the Bronco, this new model is another part of Ford’s plan to launch five new models in Europe by the end of 2029.
Aside from new models, securing investment in Valencia avoids the plant’s restructuring or closure. ‘This partnership shows how automakers are strengthening Europe’s industrial base, but we can’t do it alone,’ says head of Ford Europe, Jim Baumbick (pictured above).
Likely the most lucrative part of the deal for Geely is access to European manufacturing, allowing the Chinese brand to circumvent any tariffs or additional costs applied by the European Union. The same is happening to Nissan’s plant in Sunderland, as a proposed deal with Chery Group is being discussed to allow the Chinese brand to build cars at Nissan’s underutilised facility in the north east of England.
That said, Geely Auto has also confirmed that two new electric SUVs will be manufactured at the Valencia plant, with the first expected to launch in 2028. This is part of the brand’s expansion into Europe, with models like the Starray plug-in hybrid and the small EX2 electric supermini having already landed in Europe over the last year or so.
‘We are dedicated to delivering vehicles that European customers will choose on merit,’ says Geely Auto vice president, Alex Nan. ‘Put simply: we are building cars in Europe, for Europe, alongside a trusted partner.’
Victor Yang, Geely Holding Group executive vice president also clarifies: ‘We are not bringing any workforce from China, we’re only relying on the expertise in the workforce at Valencia.’
Ford says the relationship between itself and Geely Auto stems from when it sold Volvo to Geely Group in 2010, where Ford then ‘watched it protect and revitalise the brand.’ As well as other factors, Ford also says it shares ‘a belief that customers should be able to choose their own path through the energy transition’ with Geely.
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