According to Bloomberg News, Ford Motor Company is close to reaching an agreement to sell a German factory. It is reported that two automaker groups from China are among the three main bidders.
One of the bids came from BYD, while the other involved several smaller Chinese auto companies, according to people familiar with the matter. Ford and Saarland, where the plant is located, are also in talks with a German solar panel maker, the people said.
Ford is said to be seeking a preliminary agreement on the sale later this month, about a year before the automaker will stop making cars at its Saarlouis plant in 2025. The plant currently assembles the Ford Focus compact car and employs about 4,600 people.
The people also stressed that there was no guarantee a deal would be completed by a deadline later this month. Negotiations could also fail, they said. Ford said it was committed to revamping its Saarlouis plant and creating future jobs, while declining to comment further, while spokesmen for BYD and the Saarland economics ministry involved in the talks also declined to comment.
It is worth mentioning that Ford will also cut thousands of jobs to reduce its size in Europe, while also investing billions of dollars to restructure for the electric age.
Next week, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will attend the opening ceremony of Ford’s electric car factory in Cologne, which cost $2 billion to overhaul, Production of the electric car will begin later this year.
