£600m government-backed loan for Ford EV production

A Government-backed loan of £600 million will facilitate Ford's investment into its Essex and Merseyside manufacturing facilities, accelerating its production of electric vehicles and supporting thousands of local jobs.

Ford has received support from UK Export Finance (UKEF) through its Export Development Guarantee (EDG) scheme, which will turbo-charge Ford’s transition towards electrification, expand its manufacturing and export capacity and support continued investment in the UK.

The UKEF-backed loan will initially support a £125 million investment to fund phase two of its electric vehicle powertrain manufacturing hub in Halewood, Merseyside, making the North-West a centre of excellence for electric vehicle production in Europe.

The Halewood plant’s electric powertrain volume is due to increase from 250,000 units to 420,000 units per annum as a result of the UKEF support. That’s a near 70% increase. It will provide a major boost to the manufacturing capability of the UK, its EV supply chain and UK exports generally.

The loan will also help protect Ford’s ability to deliver Engineering Services in Dunton, Essex. A key feature of the UKEF EDG product is that it provides liquidity for Ford to use across their business as required. This liquidity is crucial for Dunton and will enable Ford’s flagship R&D facility to continue to do what it does best: developing the light commercial vehicle business, designing new powertrains and vehicles, piloting new assembly lines for electrified components, and training and upskilling engineers and apprentices for the transition from internal combustion engines to battery electric vehicles.