{“@context”:”https://schema.org”,”@type”:”Article”,”image”:”https://car-images.bauersecure.com/wp-images/268928/ford-geely-jv-09.jpg”,”mainEntityOfPage”:{“@type”:”WebPage”,”@id”:”https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-news/industry-news/ford/geely-valencia-joint-venture/”},”url”:”https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-news/industry-news/ford/geely-valencia-joint-venture/”,”author”:{“@type”:”Person”,”name”:”Jake Groves”,”description”:”Jake Groves is CARu2019s News Editor, and has been part of the CAR team since April 2017. As well as managing the news content thatu2019s published on CARu2019s website, Jake also helps to build the news-based content in the Agenda section of CARu2019s monthly print magazine u2013 planning how new cars, big industry stories and exclusive scoops can be crafted into the pages of CAR.nnnnJake has been a car enthusiast even before he could walk, pointing out car models on the street while still in a pushchair. Growing up, Jake has always been around cars, attending motor shows with family, amassing a vast collection of toy cars u2013 even managing to steer some his parentsu2019 cars and drive a Ferrari 355 (on private land!) before he was legally allowed to have a licence.nnnnHe knew from being a teenager that he wanted to write about cars and the automotive industry, so he went to Sunderland University (the same university CAR contributor Chris Chilton went to, among other members of the automotive media) to study journalism through an NCTJ-accredited course from 2011. During his final year in 2014, he even created his own car magazine from scratch u2013 which you can still read right here u2013 and achieved a 2:1 Batcheloru2019s Degree.nnnnJake then cut his teeth working for Dennis Publishingu2019s automotive titles Carbuyer and Auto Express for two years; time at the former taught him how to drive a website content system like he stole it, and the latter refined his news writing skills.nnnnAt CAR, itu2019s his job to know whatu2019s happening at all times in the automotive industry, react to breaking news stories and direct CARu2019s team as to how to approach news content both in print and online. He interviews industry executives to either get the scoop or help flesh out a story happening in the automotive world around us, attends press conferences and events to get the story from on the ground and investigates the latest technologies being developed for and by the car industry.nnnnJake writes mostly about new car reveals, wider industry stories and articles surrounding electric cars. On top of that, heu2019s written countless drive reviews for CAR u2013 both in print and online u2013 as well as on our companion site, Parkers. Heu2019s also the custodian of the CAR newsletter, keeping you up to date with everything thatu2019s happened in the world of CAR.nnnnWhen heu2019s not driving, Jake is a big gamer. As well as hammering racing games, Jake spends a lot of his time on role-playing games and gets his real geek on with simulation games like city builders on the PC. When heu2019s not in the digital universe, heu2019s usually seen building the latest Lego kit or buying a new pair of trainers u2013 even if his house is rapidly running out of space to fit any more of either.nnnnOn social media, Jakeu2019s Instagram profile is filled with all of the cars heu2019s been lucky enough to drive over the years, and you can follow him on X (nu00E9e Twitter). Read Jakeu2019s latest articles below.”,”image”:{“@type”:”ImageObject”,”url”:”https://car-assets.bauersecure.com/wp-images/14234/jg5.jpg”,”caption”:”Jake Groves”},”sameAs”:[“https://www.linkedin.com/in/jake-groves-06181b40/”,”https://x.com/_jakegroves”,”https://www.instagram.com/_jakegroves/”],”url”:”https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/author/jake-groves/”,”alumniOf”:{“@type”:”EducationalOrganization”,”name”:”University of Sunderland”},”email”:”jake.groves@carmagazine.co.uk”,”jobTitle”:”News Editor”,”knowsAbout”:”Automotive,Car news,Car reviews,Car features,Car technology”},”dateModified”:”2026-07-23T10:30:00+01:00″,”datePublished”:”2026-07-23T10:30:00+01:00″,”headline”:”Ford and Geely Auto confirm partnership to make cars from both brands at Valencia plant”,”publisher”:{“@type”:”Organization”,”name”:”Bauer Media”,”brand”:{“@type”:”Organization”,”name”:”Car Magazine”},”logo”:{“@type”:”ImageObject”,”url”:”https://car-assets.bauersecure.com/images/logos/car.200×88.png”}}}
Ford and Geely Auto confirm partnership to make cars from both brands at Valencia plant
► Ford and Geely Auto announce partnership
► Ford’s Valencia plant will make Geely cars too
► New Bronco model built there, plus two Geely SUVs
Ford and Geely Auto have confirmed a joint venture that will allow the Chinese brand to start producing cars at Ford’s manufacturing plant in Valencia.
Ford says the new joint venture ‘secures the future’ of the Valencia plant, which has which has been manufacturing just Kuga SUV for the last few years after other models like the Galaxy and S-Max were retired. The aim is to ‘pool production volume’ with Geely, allowing its Chinese partner to manufacture cars locally, and enable new Ford models to be built there, too.
Ford points to ‘intense global competition, relentless cost pressure and tightening regulation’ for what it considers to be a tough European market, with this joint venture aiming to ease those issues.
The first joint venture operations are expected to start in the first half of 2027 ‘pending regulatory approval,’ with Geely Auto securing 34 per cent of the new joint venture entity and Ford controlling 66 per cent.
What does Ford get out of this?
As well as production of the Kuga remaining at Valencia, Ford has confirmed that its European-spec Bronco model – the one that was first announced as part of its ‘Ready, Set, Ford’ plans – will be manufactured at the Spanish site.
The bigger news, though, is that a new ‘multi-energy’ crossover that has been designed by Ford but developed in partnership with Geely Auto will also be manufactured in Valencia, launching in 2028. Like the Bronco, this new model is another part of Ford’s plan to launch five new models in Europe by the end of 2029.
Aside from new models, securing investment in Valencia avoids the plant’s restructuring or closure. ‘This partnership shows how automakers are strengthening Europe’s industrial base, but we can’t do it alone,’ says head of Ford Europe, Jim Baumbick (pictured above).
What does Geely Auto get out of this?
Likely the most lucrative part of the deal for Geely is access to European manufacturing, allowing the Chinese brand to circumvent any tariffs or additional costs applied by the European Union. The same is happening to Nissan’s plant in Sunderland, as a proposed deal with Chery Group is being discussed to allow the Chinese brand to build cars at Nissan’s underutilised facility in the north east of England.
That said, Geely Auto has also confirmed that two new electric SUVs will be manufactured at the Valancia plant, with the first expected to launch in 2028. This is part of the brand’s expansion into Europe, with models like the Starray plug-in hybrid and the small EX2 electric supermini having already landed in Europe over the last year or so.
‘We are dedicated to delivering vehicles that European customers will choose on merit,’ says Geely Auto vice president, Alex Nan. ‘Put simply: we are building cars in Europe, for Europe, alongside a trusted partner.’
Victor Yang, Geely Holding Group executive vice president also clarifies: ‘We are not bringing any workforce from China, we’re only relying on the expertise in the workforce at Valencia.’
Why has Ford chosen Geely as a partner?
Ford says the relationship between itself and Geely Auto stems from when it sold Volvo to Geely Group in 2010, where Ford then ‘watched it protect and revitalise the brand.’ As well as other factors, Ford also says it shares ‘a belief that customers should be able to choose their own path through the energy transition’ with Geely.
console.debug(‘taboola container loaded..’)
window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: ‘thumbs-feed-1×1’,
container: ‘taboola-below-article-thumbnails-v3’,
placement: ‘Below Article Thumbnails V3’,
target_type: ‘mix’
});
var disqus_shortname = ‘carmagazine’;
var disqus_developer = 0;
var disqus_identifier = ‘article-wp-268928’;
(function () {
var dsq = document.createElement(‘script’);
dsq.type = ‘text/javascript’;
dsq.async = true;
dsq.src = ‘http://’ + disqus_shortname + ‘.disqus.com/embed.js’;
(document.getElementsByTagName(‘head’)[0] || document.getElementsByTagName(‘body’)[0]).appendChild(dsq);
var s = document.createElement(‘script’);
s.type = ‘text/javascript’;
s.async = true;
s.src = ‘http://’ + disqus_shortname + ‘.disqus.com/count.js’;
(document.getElementsByTagName(‘head’)[0] || document.getElementsByTagName(‘body’)[0]).appendChild(s);
})();Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.