Furthering its commitment to ‘go all-in on electrification in Europe’, Ford has announced its intentions to invest £230mn at its Halewood vehicle transmissions facility in the UK. 

By investing this money, Ford will transform its facility to build electric power units for its all-electric passenger and commercial vehicles to be sold in Europe. The production of these power units is expected to begin by mid-2024, with a capacity of roughly 250,000 units a year. 

Whilst this investment is subject to support and investment from the U.K Government via its Automotive Transformation Fund, the money will safeguard jobs at Halewood.

“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. We also want to thank the U.K. Government for its support for this important investment at Halewood which reconfirms Ford’s continuing commitment to the U.K. and our position as a leading investor in this country’s auto industry and technological base,”  said Stuart Rowley, president, Ford of Europe.

“Ford’s decision to build its first electric vehicle components in Europe at its Halewood site is further proof that the UK remains one of the best locations in the world for high-quality automotive manufacturing. In this highly competitive, global race to secure electric vehicle manufacturing, our priority is to ensure the UK reaps the benefits,” added The UK Government’s business secretary, The Rt. Hon. Kwasi Kwarteng MP.

Why Halewood? 

Ford’s Halewood transmission facility was chosen to supply the power units due to its excellent record when it comes to quality, competitiveness, strong skills base and employee commitment.

The facility transformation will see Halewood introduce the complete all-electric assembly line, replacing the engine and transmission production lines for conventional petrol/diesel engine vehicles. 

“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. The decision recognises the experience, commitment and competitiveness of our world-class workforce and is a great source of pride for all of us working at Halewood Transmission Plant and for the wider community,” said Kevin Pearson, Unite union convenor for Halewood.

Furthering its commitment to Electrification

Earlier in the year (May 2021) Ford detailed its commitment to invest US$22bn into the electrification of the automotive industry through to 2025. 

Today’s announcement, follows this commitment, alongside its wider global investments including its US$1bn investment in Germany to drive sustainable profitability; and US$11.4bn to develop two new environmentally and technologically advanced campuses in Tennessee and Kentucky.