Ford's New Partner in Europe is... Chinese

Historically, Ford has not been shy about partnering with other automakers to jointly develop and sell products. Here in the US, you might remember the Ohio-built Nissan Quest and Mercury Villager minivans. Those of you in Europe will recall the original VW Sharan and Ford Galaxy minivans, as well as the Ford Maverick and Nissan Terrano SUVs.

More recently, Ford has reached out to help bolster their European portfolio with the disappearance of key players like Fiesta and Focus:

• VW provided their MEB platform to source the Explorer and Capri compact EV SUVs, and the two companies are also sharing a number of commercial vehicles

• Renault provided their Ampr Small platform (currently underpinning the Renault 4 and 5) to source a new small car and SUV for Ford, possibly badged Fiesta and Focus

Now a third player is in the mix, and they get a new and intriguing deal. Geely is not only providing a platform for a new electrified Ford “rally-bred crossover” due in 2028 (which could replace the current aging Kuga), but they get to build two of their own electric SUVs in Ford’s Valencia plant. The Ford/Geely joint venture is a 66/34 split, and will allow Geely to sell their products in Europe without worrying about tariffs. The plant will also build a new compact Bronco for Europe which is (strangely) completely different from the similarly-sized and styled Bronco Sport currently sold here in the US.

The chart below shows what Ford’s European showrooms will likely look like in a few years, and it may portend similar moves by other legacy European automakers. Both Nissan and Volkswagen have talked about exporting some of their new Chinese-developed product to Europe, and JLR has confirmed the new Freelander brand (co-developed with Chery) is Europe-bound as well. Are there more partnerships to come? You can count on it...