According to Carscoops , after months of negotiations, Geely and Ford have reached an agreement to manufacture cars on Ford's vacant assembly line near Valencia ( Spain ). This domestic production line will give Geely an advantage over the tariffs Europe is imposing to curb the expansion of Chinese automakers.
Ford's Almussafes plant has a capacity of 450,000 vehicles per year, but in recent years it has been operating at less than 25% of that capacity. Currently, the plant is producing the Ford Kuga, but it will soon be adding a model bearing the Geely logo to its lineup.
Geely has not yet confirmed which model will be assembled in Spain, but many sources claim it will be the Geely EX2 electric car – the best-selling model in China last year.
The Spanish Prime Minister is believed to have played a crucial role in finalizing this deal. Spain does not have a prominent domestic automotive industry like Germany or Italy, so the Iberian nation is "opening its doors" to Chinese car manufacturers.
According to Bloomberg , Chery is also collaborating with Spain's Ebro to "revive" another plant in Barcelona – a former Nissan production facility.
BAIC is partnering with Santana to assemble several off-road models in Andalusia. Stellantis will also establish a battery manufacturing plant with China's CATL group in Zaragoza.
Back in May, a report emerged suggesting that, through this agreement, Ford might produce its own all-electric model, sharing the same platform as the EX2. Carscoops notes that this information remains unconfirmed.