Former Ford Plant To Build Chevy Spark EUV

Back in early 2021, Ford announced that it would be ceasing all of its manufacturing operations in Brazil, a decision that was made purely for financial reasons. That meant a trio of Blue Oval facilities closed shortly thereafter – one in Camaçari, along with the Taubaté Engine plant, plus the Troller plant in Horizonte. Chinese automaker BYD wound up purchasing one of those plants from Ford and has since retooled it and begun production there, and now, the former Troller plant is also set to build a new product for General Motors, too.

That new product is the Chevy Spark EUV, a fully-electric crossover that will be produced in Brazil at the old Troller plant in Horizonte, according to GM Authority, which is now known as the Comexport (GM’s South American subsidiary) Ceará Automotive Plant. That facility is Brazil’s very first multi-brand vehicle plant, located in the Horizonte municipality of Ceará state, and the Chevy Spark EUV will be the first vehicle assembled at the brand new facility, too.

Comexport is investing R$400 million ($73.7 million USD) in the plant, which will ultimately produce six electrified vehicles from three different brands. Ford transferred the plant to the state of Brazil back in April 2024, after which it was sold to the subsidiary, and it has been in the retooling process ever since. Interestingly, the Chevy Spark EUV will be built using a procedure known as SKD (Semi-Knocked Down), in which pre-assembled kits are imported and assembled there. Currently, the Spark EUV is build in China and exported to Brazil.

“This is the first chapter that will be completed with the contract with Comexport to produce the Spark in the state of Ceará. With this, we confirm our commitment to Brazil, which began way back with a R$7 billion investment,” said President of GM South America, Santiago Chamorro. “It will be the first step toward industrializing electric vehicles in Brazil.”