Even century-old automakers have to seek help from others! Ford reportedly to use Geely's architecture to produce a new SUV

Recently, more details have emerged about the Ford-Geely joint venture project in Spain: Ford plans to develop a new compact SUV for the European market based on Geely's GEA global intelligent new energy architecture, marking a deepening of cooperation between the two companies from factory capacity sharing to the chassis platform level.

As early as July this year, the two companies formally signed an agreement to establish a joint venture to operate Ford's vehicle plant in Valencia, Spain, with Ford holding 66% and Geely 34% equity. The joint venture is expected to begin operations in the first half of 2027, with new vehicle production rolling off the line in 2028.

Previously, most outside observers only knew that Geely would use this factory, which has significant idle capacity, to produce its own models for export to Europe. The latest news shows that Ford will also leverage Geely's mature electrification platform to build new vehicles.

The Geely GEA architecture natively supports pure electric, plug-in hybrid, and extended-range powertrains, and has already been deployed across multiple models, including the Galaxy series.

Although the new vehicle to be launched by both parties will share the hardware foundation of Geely's architecture, the exterior design, chassis tuning, and vehicle calibration will all be led by Ford, and it will not simply be a rebadge. Ford's own product characteristics will be preserved, with reports suggesting the design may incorporate rally racing style elements.

For Ford, the pressure of electrification transformation in the European market is immense. Developing a new new-energy platform independently would be time-consuming and costly. By directly adopting the mature GEA architecture, Ford can significantly compress development cycles, share manufacturing costs, and leverage local production in Spain to circumvent EU tariff barriers on imported electric vehicles, quickly filling out its new-energy product lineup.

For Geely, this cooperation helps activate its overseas supply chain and further expand the global influence of its architecture technology.

It should be noted that this model is intended solely for the European market, with no plans for entry into China. Ford has not yet fully disclosed all specifications, and more product details will be released gradually in the future.