American automaker Ford Motor Co. announced an additional £150 million ($180 million) investment to increase the output of EV power units by 70% to 420,000 yearly in its Halewood plant in northern England engine plant, as per Reuters.
Initially, the expenditure for manufacturing about 250,000 electric vehicle motors and single-speed transmissions cost £230 million ($316 million at the time). That said, the overall investment will be roughly £380 million ($466 million).
“This is a very significant and important part of scaling up for our transformation. This is a really big deal for Ford’s business in Europe.”
Tim Slatter, head of Ford in Britain
Breakdown of the additional investment:
· £125 million for the Halewood Plant
· £24 million will go toward the development and testing of new EV components at Halewood
Purpose of the project
The significant increase in the output of EV power units will aid Ford’s targets to launch nine battery electric vehicles in Europe within two years.
“This is an all-important next step for Ford towards having nine EVs on sale within two years. Our UK workforce is playing a major role in Ford’s all-electric future, demonstrated by Halewood’s pivot to a new zero-emission powertrain, and E: PRiME’s innovation at Dunton in finalising the production processes.”
Tim Slatter, head of Ford in Britain
By 2026, Ford also aims to sell 600,000 BEVs yearly in the continent.
That said, the Halewood plant is expected to supply 70% of the drive units for those 600,000 electric vehicles.
It is also worth noting that Ford aims to offer only all-electric cars in Europe by 2030 and all-electric vans by 2035.
Ford’s sizeable investment demonstrates the automaker’s drive and commitment to advance its electrification efforts. In fact, Ford’s targets are ahead of the EU’s plan to essentially stop the sale of new fossil-fuel passenger cars by 2035.
