Ford to drive electric transformation at UK car plant

Ford to drive electric transformation at UK car plant

Ford to drive electric transformation at UK car plant

Ford will invest £230 million ($316 million, 273 million euros) in its Halewood plant on Merseyside in northwest England. Photo: File

Advertisement

LONDON: US auto giant Ford on Monday unveiled plans to convert a UK factory into its first electric vehicle component assembly site in Europe.

Ford will invest £230 million ($316 million, 273 million euros) in its Halewood plant on Merseyside in northwest England, the carmaker said.

The production will start in 2024 in a move expected to safeguard hundreds of jobs.

“This is an important step,” Ford of Europe president Stuart Rowley said.

“It further strengthens our ability to deliver 100 per cent 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.”

Advertisement

The investment includes state support via the UK government’s Automotive Transformation Fund.

Ford earlier this year pledged that between 40 per cent and 50 per cent of its global vehicles would be fully electric by the start of the next decade.

British trade union Unite on Monday said that Ford’s new investment would protect 500 jobs and potentially create up to 700 new positions.

“This investment is excellent news for the highly skilled workforce at Halewood, as it secures the future of the plant,” Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said.

Britain plans to ban sales of high-polluting diesel and petrol cars from 2030 as part of the efforts to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Catch all the International News, Breaking News Event and Latest News Updates on The BOL News


Download The BOL News App to get the Daily News Update & Follow us on Google News.


End of Article

Next Story