Ford Halewood Plant Celebrates 60 Years In Operation

July 9, 2024 11:43 am

As part of its previous ambition to sell only EVs across its European passenger vehicle lineup by 2030, The Blue Oval had been in the process of retooling certain plants for that purpose, while shuttering others that aren’t part of its future plans. Though that goal has since been ditched, the Ford Halewood plant in the UK was already tabbed to produce power units for future all-electric models, regardless. Now, the Ford Halewood plant is eyeing that future while taking a look back at its past after reaching a major milestone.

That milestone is 60 years of continuous operation after the Ford Halewood plant opened in 1964, which is also when it produced its first vehicle – an Anglia. Things have changed quite a bit since then, with the Halewood facility most recently building transmissions for various models, but it will soon begin producing e-motors for EVs, too. To celebrate that occasion, Ford opened up the Halewood plant to the families of its workers recently, and displayed some classic models that it produced in the past, too.

Back in 2021, Ford announced that it will invest £230 million pounds ($316 million USD) in the Halewood plant to transform it into a facility capable of producing electric power units for future all-electric vehicles that will be sold in Europe. When that process is completed, Ford expects it to have a capacity of around 250,000 units per year.

As Ford Authority recently reported, Ford Fund – the automaker’s philanthropic arm – is investing £1 million ($1.27 million USD) through the end of 2025 to support Halewood and the wider Liverpool city region, too. The goal of that investment is to expand access to essential services including food provision for the underserved as well as educating and preparing young people for the future world of work, bridging the gap between teaching and real-world industry experience. Ford Fund and GlobalGiving will collaborate with key partners including Torrington Drive Community Association (TDCA), Liverpool Life Sciences UTC, and Strawberry Field on the project.

We’ll have more on Ford’s plants from all over the world 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.