SpainFord and Geely Auto have signed a formal joint venture to share production at Ford’s Valencia plant in Spain, moving past the informal building-sale rumor that first surfaced in May 2026. Under the deal announced 23 July, Ford holds 66% of the venture and Geely 34%. Operations are expected to start in the first half of 2027, pending regulatory approval, with the first vehicles rolling off the line in 2028.
The Almussafes plant currently builds only the Ford Kuga against roughly 500,000 units of annual capacity. The new venture adds three vehicles: a compact SUV from Ford’s Bronco family built for European roads, an all-new Ford family crossover co-developed with Geely, and two electric SUVs from Geely, its first models produced in Europe. Ford’s own materials describe the Bronco variant and the new crossover only as “multi-energy,” without confirming a specific EV, PHEV, or hybrid split; Geely’s two additions are confirmed as fully electric.
Neither company has named the Geely models involved. When word of the tie-up first emerged in May, reporting pointed to the Xingyuan, sold in Europe as the EX2, as the likely candidate. Coverage of this week’s announcement is split: some outlets repeat a rebadged EX2, others simply describe “two electric SUVs” with no model names attached.
“For nearly 50 years, Valencia has built some of the most-loved cars in our history, and now this team will help build our future,” said Jim Baumbick, president of Ford of Europe. Geely Auto Group VP Alex Nan called the venture a reflection of the company’s “commitment to open, collaborative product development” in Europe.
The venture is aimed at closing the cost gap with Chinese rivals and using idle capacity at Valencia to meet the EU’s tightening emissions rules, while both brands keep separate design and product identities.
