The ECHO spoke to staff at the Halewood plant as Ford unveiled its new car
Ford workers shared their excitement for the future after the company unveiled its new electric car at its Halewood plant. The car giant today announced that it has begun production on its new eDrive units, which will power the electric versions of the UK’s best-selling vehicles, the Transit Custom and the Puma.
The all-electric Puma Gen-E was unveiled at Halewood on Tuesday, marking the beginning of production of eDrives in Merseyside. It follows a £380m investment – including £30.9m of governmental support via the Automotive Transformation Fund – to transform Halewood from a traditional transmissions facility into an electric vehicle component manufacturing plant.
The Halewood facility now has the capacity to produce 420,000 eDrive units annually to power Ford’s electrification goals. The Merseyside plant’s production capacity will ensure that 70% of Ford electric vehicles sold in Europe, including models such as the E-Transit Custom, the E-Tourneo Custom and the Puma Gen-E, will be powered by UK-manufactured technology.
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Following the announcement, staff at the Halewood plant spoke to the ECHO of their excitement that their site is central to Ford’s future plans. Apprentice Harry Johnston, 20, from Aughton, told the ECHO: “I’m made up – I’ve been here for two years now on plant and seeing it develop to where it has been brilliant.
“Now, obviously with the new cars coming along, it’s really good. I’m happy to be here and my future’s safe, hopefully.”
Harry added: “I had friends and family who told me about how good this company is and how good this place is. Obviously now being here I’ve witnessed that myself. Everyone who works here is a joy to work with and I’m happy to be here.
“When I’m out in public, I see so many Fords driving around. With these new cars, hopefully I’ll see more. If that’s the case then it means my future is safe.”
Trainer at the plant Christopher Herrity, 41, from Fazakerley, added: “It’s an exciting future for the plant. We’re really proud to work here and it’s great to have a good future.”
Christopher also spoke to the ECHO about life working at Halewood, where he is one of around 450 employees. He said: “Every day is different, we have different people on different courses every day, so I like it.
“We get to upskill people to do their role and to progress in the factory. It’s really good, you get to meet everyone, see everyone as the years go on. I’ve met Harry now, who is an apprentice.
“He’s hopefully going to be here for 40 years, so I’ll see Harry’s career progression, go through courses with me, so you are genuinely excited to do what you do.”
Christopher hailed the production of the eDrive units at Halewood as crucial for securing the staff’s future employment. He said: “The car industry is absolutely key (to Merseyside) – it’s paramount. It’s not just today – Harry’s got 40 years, I’ve got 26 years left before I retire.
“We know we’re safe, we know we can plan ahead with families. There is the knock on effect of knowing my job is safe for 25 years – for whatever you want to do, buy a house, and that splinters into local businesses. I want a kitchen or a bathroom, then I’m giving work to local people as well, knowing I’m safe, thanks to Ford. It’s wonderful.”
Halewood is Ford’s first in-house electric vehicle component manufacturing plant in Europe, with units set to be distributed across Europe and assembled at Ford Otosan plants in Romania and Turkey. In turn, Halewood and Dagenham will continue to support Ford UK’s annual export value as the company manages the electric transition across its car and van line-up.
The newly unveiled electric version of the Puma – the UK’s best-selling car – offers up to 325 miles of city driving range and its 10% to 80% charging time is just over 23 minutes. The Puma Gen-E will begin at £29.995 and is available to order now.
The Puma Gen-E joins the Explorer, Capri, Mustang Mach-E and E-Tourneo Courier to complete Ford’s European electric car offering, along with the E-Transit, E-Transit Courier, E Transit Custom and E-Tourneo Custom commercial vehicles supplied by Ford Pro.