Ford reveals £125m Halewood electric vehicle parts plant boost

Ford's Halewood plant will manufacture electric power units

Ford has announced plans to massively increase its production of components for electric cars in a move that will safeguard 500 jobs on Merseyside.

The £125m investment - boosted by the government's Automotive Transformation Fund - in the Halewood plant brings the US car giant's spending there to £380m.

Ford said it was stepping up its plans to electrify its range of models.

A further £24m will also be invested to help protect Ford's ability to deliver engineering services in Dunton, Essex.

International Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch said the support for Ford was "great news for jobs in Essex and Merseyside, and British manufacturing as a whole".

"We have consistently backed Ford as it makes its critical transition towards electrification," he said.

Tim Slatter, chairman of Ford UK, said: "This is an all-important next step for Ford towards having nine electric vehicles on sale within four 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 Dunton E:Prime's innovation in finalising the production processes."

The Halewood plant will begin making electric power units in 2024. Testing and prototype building have already begun.

The additional investment will see the factory's capacity rise from 230,000 units to 420,000 a year.

It also means 70% of the 600,000 electric vehicles that Ford plans to sell by 2026 will be powered by Halewood.