Ford Chooses Valencia for New Electric Car Plant

Ford has chosen Valencia as the location for its next generation electric vehicle production in Europe, as the company restructures its operations. The site was chosen over a rival facility in Saarlouis, Germany, by the US automaker.

By 2030, the company intends to sell only electric vehicles in Europe, ahead of a planned EU ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles. However, a spokesperson for the company told Reuters that job losses will be "significant. Electric vehicles are built on automated assembly lines, requiring less human intervention.

Plants that do not secure production orders for electric vehicles, such as the Saarlouis facility, which employs 4,600 people, face closure when an EU ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars takes effect in 2035. Even for the sites chosen for electric vehicle assembly, such as the Valencia plant, which employs 6,000 people, Ford has warned that layoffs will occur.

The company has selected a number of additional plants in Europe, including Cologne, Germany, Turkey, and Romania, to produce electric vehicles. Ford has promised to invest $2 billion in its Cologne factory, where it will begin producing electric vehicles next year using Volkswagen-licensed technology.