Ford has started mass assembly of vehicle drive battery packs for exclusive use in Capri and Explorer at its 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. 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 digitized Factory of the Future.

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.

Ford electric vehicles also being produced at Ford Otosan’s assembly plant in Craiova, Romania, and Kocaeli, Turkey; electric drive units are also being produced in Ford’s facility at Halewood, UK.