Ford has announced a US$247m investment in its south Wales engine factory, to build a new family of fuel-efficient engines from 2018.
The investment from Ford is backed up by US$22m from the Welsh government to support jobs in the local area.
The Bridgend plant currently builds 250,000 engines a year for Jaguar Land Rover, but that is set to end in 2018 now that JLR has introduced its in-house Ingenium range of engines. The company recently announced plans to open a new factory in Slovakia that will replace the Bridgend production capacity.
Ford has not released any details of the engine family that will be built at the Bridgend plany, but it’s expected to be codenamed Dragon, and consist of next-generation replacements for current 1.2- and 1.5-liter gasoline units.
The Bridgend factory currently builds 250,000 engines a year for Jaguar Land Rover, but that is set to end in 2018 now that JLR has introduced its in-house Ingenium range of engines and will replace the Bridgend production with its new factory in Slovakia.
The Bridgend factory, which opened in 1980, also produces 500,000 Ford engines each year, exporting them around the world.
September 29, 2015