Ford to build electric LCV in Romania

Ford has revealed that it will invest $300 million (roughly R4,3 billion) to build a new light commercial vehicle (LCV) in 2023 at its Craiova Assembly Plant in Romania, including an all-electric version due to debut in 2024 – the first all-electric Ford volume vehicle to be built in Romania.

“Ford’s Craiova operations have a strong record of delivering world-class competitiveness and flexibility. Our plan to build this new LCV in Romania reflects our continuing positive partnership with local suppliers and the community, and the success of the entire Ford Craiova team,” said Stuart Rowley, president, Ford of Europe.

“Adding an all-electric version in 2024 means Craiova will be our third facility in Europe to build an all-electric vehicle. It follows recent investments this year in the Ford Cologne Electrified Vehicle Centre in Germany and Ford Otosan’s Kocaeli plant in Turkey and sends another clear signal that we are on an accelerated path to providing our commercial vehicle customers with a zero-emissions future in Europe.” 

In February, Ford announced that its entire commercial vehicle range will be zero-emissions capable, all-electric or plug-in hybrid by 2024, with two-thirds of Ford’s commercial vehicle sales expected to be all-electric or plug-in hybrid by 2030.

The new LCV will also be equipped with some of Ford’s most advanced conventional petrol and diesel engines. These will include, for example, advanced technology diesel engines from Ford’s Dagenham Engine Plant, and transmissions will be sourced from Ford Halewood Transmissions.

The start date for production of the new vehicle and more product details will be confirmed closer to launch.