Ford to invest £230 million to turn Halewood in to an Electric Vehicle Components Centre

Ford is to invest £230 million in its Halewood vehicle transmission facility to turn it in to a centre for Electric Vehicle Components.

Ford may not build cars in the UK anymore, but it does build a lot of components for cars in the UK, not least at the vehicle transmission centre in Halewood which churns out transmissions for Ford passenger and commercial vehicles, all of which are exported.

But with a move from ICE to EVs, the need for gearboxes as we know them will disappear, but Ford isn’t abandoning Halewood as that transition gathers pace in the coming years, and is investing £230 million – backed by funding from the UL Government – to turn Halewood in to a centre for Electric Vehicle Components.

The EV components Halewood will produce from 2024 are the all-electric assemblies that replace the engine and gearbox in an ICE car, with Halewood being chosen for its strong skill base and record on quality and competitiveness (and help from Government funding too, no doubt).

Stuart Rowley, Ford of Europe President, said:

This is an important step, marking Ford’s first in-house investment in all-electric vehicle component manufacturing in Europe. It strengthens further our ability to deliver 100 percent of Ford passenger vehicles in Europe being all-electric and two-thirds of our commercial vehicle sales being all-electric or plug-in hybrid by 2030.

We also want to thank the U.K. Government for its support for this important investment at Halewood which reconfirms Ford’s continuing commitment to the U.K. and our position as a leading investor in this country’s auto industry and technological base.

As a result of the investment, Halewood will be Ford’s first electric vehicle component in-house assembly site in Europe, and the transition to EV components will help secure jobs at Halewood as ICE gearboxes joining the dinosaurs.