Battery Pack Assembly Begins in Cologne

We've started mass assembly of vehicle drive battery packs for exclusive use in Capri ¹ and Explorer ² at our Cologne plant.

Part of a transformative $2 billion investment, the fully digitalised new facility ensures high quality standards, efficiency and a significant reduction in transportation.

It also ensures full alignment with vehicle assembly at the nearby Cologne Electric Vehicle Center.

Cologne has been a cornerstone of Ford production in Europe for almost 100 years. This new assembly facility is another step on the road to electromobility, expanding our expertise, strengthening value chains and delivering high-quality components and vehicles for customers.

The new facility also supports the continuous development of the skills and expertise of the Ford workforce as part of the transformation of the plant into a digitised Factory of the Future.

The 180 newly installed robots weld, glue and screw the battery housing together and equip it with up to 12 battery modules.

A total of around 2,775 individual parts are assembled into a battery pack on the 2 km-long highly automated production line.

The new battery facility also represents another step in our journey towards an electric future, updating manufacturing processes and facilities, and further expanding our capability in Europe.

With electric vehicles also being produced at Ford Otosan's assembly plant in Craiova, Romania, and Kocaeli, Turkey and electric drive units produced in our facility at Halewood, UK, we are continuing our mission to create a new generation of high-quality electric vehicles in Europe for European customers.

Volker Eis is corporate communications manager, Ford in Europe

¹ Up to 627 km driving range based on full charge of Capri RWD extended range. Estimated range using Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP).

² Up to 602 km based on full charge of Explorer RWD extended range. Estimated range using Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP).

The declared WLTP fuel/energy consumptions, CO₂-emissions and electric range are determined according to the technical requirements and specifications of the European Regulations (EC) 715/2007 and (EU) 2017/1151 as last amended. The applied standard test procedures enable comparison between different vehicle types and different manufacturers.