Ford has announced a US$46.5m investment in its manufacturing plant, in Valencia, Spain, to support the company’s electrification strategy with a state-of-the-art battery assembly facility.
Equipped with two new assembly lines, the site will enable manufacture of advanced lithium-ion batteries for the plug-in hybrid Kuga, hybrid Kuga, as well as the recently announced S-Max and Galaxy hybrids.
“With electrification fast becoming the mainstream, we are increasing our investment in Valencia to provide even more electrified models and powertrain options for our customers,” said Stuart Rowley, president, Ford of Europe.
Production of the self-charging electrified S-Max and Galaxy variants – powered by a 2.5-liter Atkinson cycle gasoline engine, electric motor, generator and lithium-ion battery – is enabled by an additional US$8.8m investment in new tooling and assembly line upgrades at the Valencia facility.
A further US$11m investment supports production of the all-new Kuga Hybrid SUV. Ford is introducing 14 electrified vehicles in Europe by the end of 2020. Production at the new battery assembly facility will begin in September.