Geely has reached an agreement with Ford to produce cars in Spain
After several months of negotiations, it has been announced that Chinese automaker Geely has reached an agreement with Ford to use an idle assembly line at Ford’s plant near Valencia, Spain. This will allow Geely to produce vehicles locally, avoiding tariffs aimed at limiting the expansion of Chinese companies in Europe.
Ford’s plant in Almussafes has an annual capacity of 450,000 vehicles, but has been operating at less than a quarter of that capacity for several years. Currently, it produces the Kuga model, but a Geely vehicle will soon join it. The company has not yet confirmed which model it will build in Spain; however, according to reports, it will be the new EX2—an affordable electric hatchback that was the best-selling new car in China last year.
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Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez played a key role in securing this agreement. Since Spain lacks a significant domestic automotive industry like Germany or Italy, it is welcoming Chinese companies.
Chinese brands head to Spain
As Bloomberg notes, Chery is already collaborating with Spanish company Ebro and has revived a plant in Barcelona that once belonged to Nissan. Additionally, BAIC is partnering with local firm Santana to produce several SUVs in Andalusia. Stellantis also plans to establish a battery plant together with Chinese conglomerate CATL in Zaragoza.
Additional details of the agreement are expected to be announced later this week by Spain’s Prime Minister during his address to journalists at the Ford plant. Back in May, it was reported that this deal could allow Ford to develop its own electric vehicle on the same platform as the EX2, although this has not yet been confirmed.
Geely EX2
This event is part of a broader trend where Chinese automakers are actively seeking production sites in Europe to avoid trade barriers. For Spain, such investments are becoming an important source of jobs and technology, especially amid declining production at traditional European automotive giants. The collaboration with Geely could not only utilize the capacity of the Ford plant but also accelerate the region’s transition to electric vehicle production, aligning with Europe-wide environmental goals.