Ford is in talks with Chinese electric car maker BYD over the sale of its factory in Saarlouis, Germany. wall street journal This was reported by a person familiar with the matter.
Ford will end production of the Focus compact car at its factory in 2025, and the company will scale back its European vehicle lineup to focus on fully electric vehicles and light commercial vans.
The future of the Saarlouis plant has been uncertain since Ford chose Valencia, Spain last June. The German plant will build the next generation of electric vehicles.
Ford executives are scheduled to travel to China next week to discuss a potential sale with BYD. journal report. Negotiations are still in the preliminary stages and could eventually break down, the report said.
Ford said last June that it was exploring alternatives to building vehicles at its Saarlouis plant. The factory he employs 4,600 workers.
of journal Ford is reportedly also attracting interest from about 15 potential investors, but the terms of the deal are unclear.
Works council chief Saarlouis said negotiations with potential investors had accelerated in recent months, with Ford aiming to present a solution on the future of the plant by the end of the first quarter. . Marcus Tull.
“It’s of secondary importance which continent a potential investor comes from. If an automaker is coming, that’s what we want to see, because that’s what we do,” he said. I was.
“We need a plan urgently,” Tal added, saying workers won’t wait until 2024 for a solution.
Ford and the Saarland state government, where the plant is located, agreed in September last year to work together to find a new investor for the plant, and the final decision on the buyer was approved by both parties.