VALENCIA, Spain, May 7, 2026, 23:09 (CEST)
Chinese automaker Geely has agreed to buy Ford Motor’s idle Body 3 assembly hall at its Almussafes plant near Valencia, La Tribuna de Automoción reported, a move that would give the Chinese group a European manufacturing base inside one of Ford’s main Spanish sites. The Spanish trade publication said the hall would let Geely run vehicle production independently from Ford’s remaining lines.
The timing is the point. Ford needs more use for a plant now centered on the Kuga SUV, while Geely and other Chinese automakers want cars built inside Europe rather than shipped through tariffs; Yicai reported that Valencia output fell nearly 18% last year to 98,500 vehicles, far below designed annual capacity of 400,000. Yicai also cited Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association, as saying China’s overseas auto growth reflects its industrial edge during the shift to new-energy vehicles, China’s term for electric, plug-in hybrid and related drivetrains.
The EU has made the tariff math hard to ignore. Its five-year countervailing duties — tariffs meant to offset state subsidies — include 18.8% for Geely, 17.0% for BYD and 35.3% for SAIC on battery-electric vehicles imported from China.
Ford has not publicly signed off on the report. Reuters said Geely did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while a Ford representative called the report speculation and declined to comment.
Body 3 is not spare office space. Ford Authority said the dormant hall formerly supported Mondeo, S-Max and Galaxy production, while Kuga work now runs through other body areas of the plant.
Geely’s reported plan centers on a model internally code-named 135 and built on GEA, or Global Intelligent Electric Architecture, a modular platform that can underpin different body sizes and powertrains. CnEVPost said the vehicle is likely a localized European version of the Geely EX2/Xingyuan, and that Ford could also get a co-developed model based on the same technology.
A plug-in hybrid can be charged from the grid and still use an engine; a regular hybrid cannot be plugged in. That is why the project is being described as “multi-energy”: one vehicle base, several ways to power it.
The talks fit Ford’s wider shift toward alliances in Europe. Reuters reported in February that Ford and Geely had discussed use of Ford’s European factory space and shared technology, including automated driving, while Ford CEO Jim Farley called China’s lead in EVs and connected-car technology “the most humbling thing I have ever seen.” Reuters
The pressure on Almussafes has built. La Tribuna separately reported this week that Ford’s own multi-energy model for the plant has slipped to early 2028 from an initial mid-2027 target, with potential annual output now seen at 183,000 units rather than 300,000; it also said more than 900 of the plant’s more than 4,000 workers are currently affected each day by a Spanish ERTE Red temporary-employment scheme.
Competitive pressure is close by. Reuters reported on Wednesday that EBRO aims to double output at a Barcelona site where Chery, its Chinese joint-venture partner, is expected to start local production late this year or in early 2027.
SAIC is also in the Spain frame. Reuters said La Tribuna reported SAIC was considering Ferrol, in Galicia, for European production, and that Galician Premier Alfonso Rueda visited SAIC’s Zhengzhou headquarters in April to seek Chinese investment.
But the Ford-Geely project is not risk-free. A Ford spokesperson told Electrek the company talks to many firms and that “Nothing is finalized,” leaving open the launch date, final ownership terms, supplier awards and whether a Ford-badged Geely-based model will actually follow. Electrek
For Ford, the deal would be a blunt use of idle capacity. For Geely, it would be a quicker way to test European manufacturing than building from scratch, and a sign that China’s electric-vehicle push is moving from exports to local industrial footholds.
