Overview
- The companies announced the joint venture on Thursday, July 23, 2026, saying Ford will own 66 percent and Geely will hold 34 percent of the new entity.
- The partners said the JV aims to start operations in the first half of 2027 pending regulatory approvals and to begin vehicle production in 2028.
- Ford’s Valencia plant will keep producing the Kuga plug‑in hybrid in the near term and is slated from 2028 to build a new Ford Bronco, a jointly developed multi‑energy crossover and two Geely electric SUVs.
- Ford and Geely say the deal is meant to revive underused capacity at Valencia, which has run well below its roughly 450,000–500,000 unit potential, and to share development and production costs.
- The partnership gives Geely a local EU manufacturing base to reduce exposure to import tariffs and could face political and regulatory scrutiny as U.S. lawmakers tighten rules on Chinese automakers and European regulators review the plan.