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LONDON – Ford is set to choose one of its two transmission factories in Europe to produce electric transmissions, according to sources close to the automaker.
The two factories in the running are the two former facilities of Ford’s joint venture with Getrag, now 100% owned by Ford. One is in Halewood, England, and the other is in Cologne, Germany.
Ford will announce its decision “in a few weeks,” according to UK broadcaster Sky News, which first reported the story.
The winning factory would build “e-drive” units comprising an electric motor, transmission and inverter for electric vehicles, a source said.
No details were available as to whether the factory would build the three main components from scratch or assemble the vendor units.
Switching from building transmissions for internal combustion engine vehicles to e-drives for electric vehicles would secure the future of either plant as Ford will only sell fully electric passenger cars in Europe from here. 2030.
Ford has not commented on the potential location of electric motor production in Europe.
“Ford is banking on ‘all-in’ electrification, with 100% of our fully electric passenger vehicles and two-thirds of our utility vehicle sales expected to be fully electric or plug-in hybrids by 2030,†the company said. . in a statement to Automotive news Europe.
The automaker’s Cologne transmission plant is next to the Ford auto plant that is currently building the small Fiesta sedan. The plant will build fully electric cars for European markets based on the Volkswagen Group’s MEB platform. The first car, which is expected to be based on the VW ID4 compact crossover, is due in 2023, with a second car also likely.
However, MEB cars could also use transmission components supplied by VW.
Ford of Europe CEO Stuart Rowley said in an interview in March that the company is ready to cut the number of factories making powertrain components in Europe as it goes electric. “As the transition goes on there will be fewer powertrain factories; we could also invest in electrical components,†Rowley said.
Ford is already building its own electric propulsion units for its Mach-E electric SUV produced in Mexico.
Ford’s decision to allocate the production of electric transmissions to Halewood or Cologne could depend on the size of government subsidies.
Ford has held talks with officials from the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) about the proposals for Halewood, Sky News reported.
The UK government has been generous to automakers keen to keep their business in the country as it struggles to overcome the hurdles imposed by the country’s exit from the European Union’s free trade bloc.
In July, the government agreed to pay about 30% of Stellantis’ £ 100million ($ 137million) cost to convert Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port plant to electric vans.
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