Ford and Geely join forces in Europe to build new SUV, as Ford also commits to new Bronco

China’s Geely has signed a joint venture with Ford to begin shared production at the American carmaker’s production facility in Spain.

The Chinese carmaker has conditionally agreed to acquire a 34 per cent stake in Ford’s Almussafes production plant near Valencia, Spain for €221 million (~A$360 million), per a filing with the Hong Kong Exchange.

This newly established joint venture will begin in the first half of 2027, pending regulatory approvals, and allow for renovations to boost annual production capacity to 500,000 vehicles.

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As it currently stands, this Spanish production facility only produces the Ford Kuga, which was previously offered in Australia as the Escape. Production of this mid-size SUV will continue.

Beyond this, Ford has confirmed it will produce a new, European-focused “member of the global Bronco family” at the Spanish production facility in 2028.

Geely also plans to begin production of two electric SUVs at the Spanish production facility in 2028.

At this stage it’s unclear what these models will be as the only electric SUV the Chinese carmaker currently offers in Europe is the E5, which is called the EX5 in Australia.

Lastly, a new “multi-energy family crossover” designed by Ford and jointly developed with Geely will launch in 2028.

No details about this vehicle have been announced yet, but Ford says it will be engineered with its “signature capabilities and driving dynamics”.

Geely over the past few years has been scaling its operations in markets outside of China, including in Australia. In the first half of 2026 it sold a total of 474,228 vehicles in overseas markets, which is up 158 per cent year-on-year.

In Australia the Chinese carmarker sold a total of 10,970 vehicles in the first half of 2026, which is up 494.6 per cent year-on-year. It is now the 18th best-selling brand Down Under.

Geely is far from the only Chinese carmaker that has been acquiring unused production capacity from legacy carmakers.

Chery recently signed a non-binding agreement with Nissan to explore contract manufacturing at the Japanese carmaker’s production facility in Sunderland, UK.

Stellantis, which owns brands like Alfa Romeo, Fiat and Ram, among others, decided earlier this year to share its manufacturing plants in Spain and France with its Chinese partners Leapmotor and Dongfend, respectively.