FORD’S £125M BOOST LIVERPOOL WHICH WAS ANNOUNCED MAJOR PLANS TO BOOST ITS PRODUCTION OF COMPONENTS FOR ELECTRIC CARS IN A MOVE THAT WILL SAFEGUARD 500 JOBS ON IN LIVERPOOL CITY REGION.
Building on its drive to grow an all-electric vehicle range, Ford has invested a further £125m in its Halewood Plant, increasing capacity by 70% as well as a £24m investment in the supporting E:PRiME product development centre.
The latest cash injection, supported by the government’s Automotive Transformation Fund, in the Halewood plant brings the US car giant’s spending there to £380m.
The news comes after Ford announced a £230m investment to deliver 250,000 power units a year for electric vehicles from 2024 at the Halewood site.
Kieran Cahill, Ford’s European industrial operations vice-president, said: “Ford is a global American brand, woven into the fabric of Europe for more than 100 years and a major employer here at Halewood for almost 60 years.
“OUR VISION IN EUROPE IS TO BUILD A THRIVING BUSINESS, BY EXTENDING LEADERSHIP IN COMMERCIAL VEHICLES AND THROUGH THE ELECTRIFICATION OF OUR CAR RANGE. HALEWOOD IS PLAYING A CRITICAL PART AS OUR FIRST IN-HOUSE INVESTMENT IN EV COMPONENT MANUFACTURING IN EUROPE.”
Tim Slatter, chairman of Ford UK, said:
“THIS IS AN ALL-IMPORTANT NEXT STEP FOR FORD TOWARDS HAVING NINE EVS ON SALE WITHIN TWO YEARS. OUR UK WORKFORCE IS PLAYING A MAJOR ROLE IN FORD’S ALL-ELECTRIC FUTURE, DEMONSTRATED BY HALEWOOD’S PIVOT TO A NEW ZERO-EMISSION POWERTRAIN, AND E:PRIME’S INNOVATION AT DUNTON IN FINALISING THE PRODUCTION PROCESSES.”
Ford’s £125m boost Liverpool will come as a major boost for the local economy.
