Photo: Ford
Ford negotiated with a Chinese investor for the sale of the carmaker's plant in Germany, but negotiations failed. The production center is either going to be closed down in 2025 or be converted into a technology center.
Ford is shrinking its production network in Europe in an attempt to reduce costs and focus on selling only electric cars by 2030 on the Old Continent. The carmaker is planning to launch seven EVs in the European market in 2025, with the electric version of the Puma crossover, the company's bestseller in Europe, spearheading the zero-emission lineup.
The plant in Saarlouis, Germany, builds the Ford Focus, a model that the Dearborn-based automaker is going to phase out in 2025. The compact car is not even getting an electric replacement, so keeping a car plant in the region would make no sense.
The potential investor has reportedly run a feasibility study and decided that it was not a good decision to proceed with the transaction and pulled out. Ford was planning to sign a binding preliminary agreement by September 30.
Ford did not disclose the name of the company they negotiated with, but it was – according to sources familiar with the talks – a Chinese automaker. Considering the interest that the Asian carmakers have been showing for the European market, it would not have come as a surprise.
It would be more cost-efficient for them to build cars for Europe in Europe, just as German carmakers, for instance, manufacture products for the Chinese market in China.
Earlier this year, the plant’s works council revealed that fifteen possible investors had expressed interest, with the car giant BYD and Chery Automotive reportedly being on the list.
Bloomberg reports that Ford and the German state of Saarland held talks with BYD and several smaller manufacturers, as well as a solar panel modules manufacturer from Germany.
The workers at the plant were told by Ford’s Europe passenger cars boss, Martin Sander, that the company is trying to come up with an alternative plan that would save the positions of 1,000 employees of the 4,400 currently working at the factory. Converting the car plant into a technology center is one of the options for the future.
The beginning of the end for the plant in Saarlouis started back in 2022, when Ford selected the production center in Valencia, Spain, to manufacture the next-generation electric cars of the automaker.
The union representing workers at the site expressed anger and frustration at the news and threatened that the move would be “expensive” for Ford if so many employees are going to lose their jobs. The union is trying to set up a collective bargaining agreement that would protect the workers who are to be fired.
The plant in Saarlouis, Germany, builds the Ford Focus, a model that the Dearborn-based automaker is going to phase out in 2025. The compact car is not even getting an electric replacement, so keeping a car plant in the region would make no sense.
The potential investor has reportedly run a feasibility study and decided that it was not a good decision to proceed with the transaction and pulled out. Ford was planning to sign a binding preliminary agreement by September 30.
Ford did not disclose the name of the company they negotiated with, but it was – according to sources familiar with the talks – a Chinese automaker. Considering the interest that the Asian carmakers have been showing for the European market, it would not have come as a surprise.
It would be more cost-efficient for them to build cars for Europe in Europe, just as German carmakers, for instance, manufacture products for the Chinese market in China.
Earlier this year, the plant’s works council revealed that fifteen possible investors had expressed interest, with the car giant BYD and Chery Automotive reportedly being on the list.
Bloomberg reports that Ford and the German state of Saarland held talks with BYD and several smaller manufacturers, as well as a solar panel modules manufacturer from Germany.
The workers at the plant were told by Ford’s Europe passenger cars boss, Martin Sander, that the company is trying to come up with an alternative plan that would save the positions of 1,000 employees of the 4,400 currently working at the factory. Converting the car plant into a technology center is one of the options for the future.
The beginning of the end for the plant in Saarlouis started back in 2022, when Ford selected the production center in Valencia, Spain, to manufacture the next-generation electric cars of the automaker.
The union representing workers at the site expressed anger and frustration at the news and threatened that the move would be “expensive” for Ford if so many employees are going to lose their jobs. The union is trying to set up a collective bargaining agreement that would protect the workers who are to be fired.
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