HALEWOOD, UK - Ford’s Halewood plant has achieved a significant milestone with the start of production of its new electric drive units. These electric power units, critical to Ford’s electrification strategy, will power the electric versions of the UK’s best-selling vehicles - Transit Custom and Puma.
This achievement follows a £380 million investment, including £30.9 million of governmental support via the Automotive Transformation Fund, to transform Halewood from a traditional transmissions facility into a state-of-the-art electric vehicle component manufacturing plant.
The Halewood facility now has the capacity to produce 420,000 electric drive units annually that will power Ford’s ambitious electrification goals. Halewood’s production capacity will ensure that 70 per cent of Ford electric vehicles sold in Europe, including the E-Transit Custom, E-Tourneo Custom and the Puma Gen-E, will be powered by UK-manufactured technology.
Kieran Cahill, Ford’s European Industrial Operations Vice-President, highlighted the people behind Halewood’s success: “Ford is a global American brand with deep roots in Europe, and Halewood has been a cornerstone of that legacy for 60 years. It’s not just the state-of-the-art technology or the £380 million transformation that makes Halewood special—it’s the incredible team here. Their skill, dedication, and pride are what power our electrification journey. With Halewood leading the way as our first in-house EV component manufacturing site in Europe, we’re building a thriving future together, with nine electric vehicles on the road in Europe by 2025.”
The new all-electric Puma Gen-E was unveiled today at the plant by Lisa Brankin, Managing Director and the team from the Halewood plant. The electric version of the UK’s best-selling car will be powered by the electric drive units built at Halewood and assembled at Ford’s plant in Craiova.
