Ford and Geely link up

Geely and Ford have formed a joint venture that will take production of new electrified models from both brands to the blue oval’s factory in Valencia, Spain.

The deal will be 66 per cent owned by Ford and 34 per cent by Geely. It secures the future of the facility, which currently only makes the Kuga after Ford ended production there of its midsize models.

“Our goal is to completely load this plant up to maximum capacity,” says Jim Baumbick, Ford’s head of Europe.

Production at Valencia fell below 100,000 vehicles in 2025, far under its annual capacity of about 500,000.

Ford will add an all-new compact crossover jointly developed with Geely in 2028 that will offer multiple powertrains, including a plug-in hybrid, while Geely will produce two electric SUVs for its namesake volume brand. Production of the first Geely model will also start in 2028.

Victor Yang, Geely’s senior vice-president, says the first electric SUV to be made in Valencia will be the EX5, pictured, which is already sold in Europe. The other vehicle is still in development.

Ford has said its new model will have “rally-bed” design characteristics and will also include a plug-in hybrid variant.

Separately, Ford will also build in Valencia a Europe-specific off-roader on a Ford platform starting in 2028. Production of the Kuga will continue, although the company hasn’t given a production end date.

Ford’s workforce in Valencia will become employees of the new joint venture and the plant will likely require more staff as production increases.

Collaborating with Geely will allow the blue oval to better compete in Europe against surging Chinese brands such as BYD, MG and Chery, which together increased their market share to about 10 per cent in June.