Jim Farley has spent the better part of the last few years shouting from every podium that the Chinese are coming for the American market share. According to the Ford CEO, the “Red Menace” of EVs is a generational threat that Detroit must arm itself against. But as it turns out, if you can’t beat them, you might as well charge them rent. While the public narrative is all about defense, the reality unfolding at Ford’s Valencia plant in Spain looks a lot more like a warm welcome.
Reports from La Tribuna de Automoción suggest that Geely, the Hangzhou giant, has essentially reached an agreement to take over an assembly line within Ford’s Spanish fortress. Instead of building Mustangs, the facility would reportedly churn out a multi-energy vehicle based on Geely’s GINA (Global Intelligent New Energy Architecture).
The project, internally dubbed “135”, is expected to arrive in hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and fully electric flavors. Speculation points to the 135 actually being the EX2, a compact crossover that is quite literally a “Puma-sized” problem. We’re talking about a vehicle 4,135 mm long and 1,805 mm wide, powered by modest 30.1 or 40.1 kWh batteries. With a rear motor pushing out a humble 78 or 114 hp and a CLTC range reaching up to 410 km, it’s exactly the kind of “affordable” threat Farley warns us about.
Rumors suggest Ford might slap its own badge on a vehicle derived from this same Chinese platform. At these dimensions, it would be the spiritual (and literal) successor to the Puma.
Ford’s official response has been the corporate equivalent of a shrug, claiming they talk to everyone and “nothing is definitive”. Geely, meanwhile, has opted for the classic “no comment”. But in the shadowy corners of the industry, the deal is considered signed, sealed, and delivered. It’s a masterclass in modern automotive irony: standing on a stage calling someone a threat while privately handing them the keys to your house.
