Ford EV Efforts Expand In UK With Dunton Campus Expansion

February 15, 2024 9:20 am

Ford Propulsion Development Laboratory Dunton Campus UK

Ford’s electrification push in Europe has led to quite a few changes to its production facilities in that part of the world over the past few years, where it aims to go all-electric across its passenger vehicle lineup by 2030 or sooner. That includes, notably, transforming the Cologne Assembly plant in Germany into the Cologne Electrification Center, as well as opening an electric motor research site at the nearby Cologne-Niehl engine plant. Now, the Ford Dunton campus in the UK is also undergoing its own big EV transformation after the automaker just opened the new Propulsion Development Laboratory there.

This new facility cost £24 million ($30 million USD) to erect, and will serve a research and development role in Ford’s European electrification push, testing powertrains for durability and long-term wear. The Propulsion Development Laboratory contains eight separate rooms, each capable of testing EV power units and propulsion systems around the clock, which helps engineers mimic years of use in a short period of time. To help mark the lab’s debut, UK transport minister Anthony Browne visited and was able to take a thorough tour of the facility.

Each of these eight rooms is configured to test not only EV power units, however, but also those used in hybrid and ICE models, giving the automaker flexibility in terms of market changes and shifts in consumer demand for those types of vehicles. This latest expansion at the Dunton campus joins an additional investment into the nearby Advanced Propulsion Laboratory (APL) and E:PRiME (Electrified Powertrain in Manufacturing Engineering) prototype build facilities, too.

“I’m delighted that the transport minister Anthony Browne joined us to officially open our new Propulsion Development Laboratory,” said Lisa Brankin, chair and managing director of Ford Britain and Ireland. “This is the third new test facility opened on our Dunton Campus in two years, underpinning the site’s key role in delivering Ford’s electric vehicle plan in Europe.”

We’ll have more on Ford’s EV push in Europe soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for 24/7 Ford news coverage.

By Brett Foote

Brett's lost track of all the Fords he's owned over the years and how much he's spent modifying them, but his current money pits include an S550 Mustang and 13th gen F-150.