Ford to sell part of Valencia plant to Geely to build new crossover - report

Ford is in talks with Geely over the sale of part of its Valencia plant so the Chinese giant can build Geely-badged cars in Europe for the first time – and it will start with a compact crossover bound for the UK.

The deal, reports Spanish newspaper La Tribuna de Automoción, would have Volvo's parent company take control of the Body 3 assembly hall – the line which previously built the Mondeo, Galaxy and S-Max.

The Valencia plant has an annual capacity of 300,000 cars but, as only the Kuga is now built there, it isn't operating close to that limit.

Such a deal would give Ford's European division a sizeable cash injection at a time when sales are slumping.

The report states that Geely will look to produce cars based on its modular GEA platform, which can accommodate electric or plug-in hybrid power across a range of body sizes.

At first, it would look to build the Galaxy EX2, a Puma-sized electric crossover. This was the best-selling car in China, where it's badged Galaxy Xingyuan, last year.

Industry sources quoted in the report claim that Geely could also build a Ford model at the plant, based on the GEA platform. 

Last year, Ford sources confirmed to Autocar that Valencia would be the home of an incoming new crossover that would indirectly replace the Focus and be sold with hybrid and electric powertrains.

It was said that this new crossover could become one of Ford’s best-selling model lines globally.

Autocar reported at the time that the car was to be built alongside the similarly sized Kuga and was expected to use its C2 platform to avoid the need for costly alterations to the production line. However, this new tie-up with Geely could open the door for it to instead be built on the GEA platform. 

Ford has long been keen on utilising partnerships for its European models: the Capri and Explorer use Volkswagen’s MEB platform while two new EVs based on Renault’s Ampr architecture are due before the end of the decade.

For Geely, the Valencia deal would allow it to avoid the EU’s costly 18.8% tariffs on EVs imported from China.

La Tribuna de Automoción reports that the deal between Ford and Geely over the sale of the plant is already “very advanced”, with suppliers in and around the city already being contacted by Geely.