Ford Motor will invest 149 million pounds ($180 million) to increase electric car power capacity in Northern England by 70 percent. This investment is Ford’s step to accelerate electrification.
Quoted by Reuters, Ford said the additional funds would increase electric car production at the Halewood factory from 250,000 to 420,000 units per year from 2024. As a result, the US manufacturer’s total investment in converting it into an electric car factory reached 380 million pounds.
“Our vision in Europe is to build our business by expanding our leadership in commercial vehicles and through the electrification of our car lineup,” said Ford Europe vice president Kieran Cahill.
According to Cahil, the Ford factory in Halewood played a very important role as Ford’s first investment in manufacturing electric car components in Europe.
The component consists of an electric motor and gearbox that will replace the engine and transmission of gasoline cars.
Ford is committed to selling fully electric cars in Europe by 2030 and electric vans by 2035. This decision supports the European Union’s plan to ban the sale of conventional cars by 2035.
The US manufacturer said Halewood should supply 70 percent of the 600,000 electric cars the company will sell in Europe annually by 2026.
Ford’s latest investment includes Ā£125 million in the Halewood plant and Ā£24 million to develop electric car parts.