The Government regards the electric car as an essential asset for the survival of the automotive industry in Spain. And a fundamental pillar will be to attract investments from China. Or, in other words: Spanish factories outputting models from Chinese brands. A plan that has already borne fruit in the Barcelona Free Zone and in Figueruelas (Zaragoza).
The latest chapter is written by Ford Almussafes in Valencia, a plant that has been on shaky ground for years. This Valencian facility has broad odds of being chosen to manufacture the on European soil. Negotiations are already under way.
Chinese electric cars ‘made in Spain’: a win-win for Spain and China
There are already Chinese brands manufacturing in Spain: Leapmotor has been the latest to arrive, following Omoda and Jaecoo at the old Nissan Barcelona facilities. This Stellantis-owned brand has already confirmed that it will manufacture its models destined for Europe at Stellantis’s Figueruelas plant. Among them the newly unveiled B10, a compact electric SUV that we have tested.
And key: this is not kits that are merely assembled as happened in Turkey. It will be produced with locally produced components, i.e., Spanish-made, starting to roll off the line in the fourth quarter of 2026. It is exactly the path intended for Geely’s small utility vehicle.
Negotiations and supplier contact. Last February, Bloomberg revealed the negotiations between Geely and Ford to manufacture in Europe, pointing to Almussafes as a possibility. A delegation of Ford executives visited China this week to analyse the various options, with the Spanish plant among the possible options.
Now these negotiations between the Asian company and Ford are being highlighted again: industry sources would have confirmed to Economia Digital that the agreement is advanced to assemble the Geely E2 at the Valencia plant (or Geely EX2, the name under which it is marketed in Latin America or Mexico). In addition, contacts with suppliers in the Community of Valencia have also begun.
In other words, it would be the same formula as in Figueruelas with Leapmotor: leveraging Spain’s industrial fabric and component base, which ultimately means safeguarding the survival of our automotive industry.
A real possibility. While it cannot yet be confirmed that the Valencia factory will host production of this car, there are factors in its favor. First, we are talking about an electric utility vehicle, and Almussafes has built the Ford Fiesta for years, a car in the same segment. The Fiesta was discontinued in 2023, although in Spain assembly ended in 2012.
It is added that Spain has traditionally been the cheap European factory. Hence Chinese brands have set their sights on our country to bring their cars to the European market and thus save on tariffs they would incur when exporting to the Old Continent. BYD is an example, with our country in the running, although that option has cooled significantly: “There is no concrete plan at this moment to establish a production center in Spain,” explained BYD’s chief executive for Spain and Portugal.
Rival of the Renault 5 electric and the cheapest BYD. The Geely E2, which topped China’s electric car sales in 2025, has recently crossed borders. It is already sold in Mexico and several South American countries, but it has also been confirmed that it will land in Europe and thus in Spain.
It is a five-door model 4.14 m long, built on the new Global Energy Architecture (GEA) platform, and the chassis has been tuned by Lotus. It is expected to reach Europe under the name Geely EX2 as it has done in Latin America. It is offered in a single mechanical variant of 116 HP (85 kW) powered by an almost 40 kWh LFP battery. The stated range is 395 km in the North American cycle.
It will thus join the growing lineup of electric utility vehicles, which, particularly in Spain, perform quite well in sales thanks to their affordable price. The BYD Dolphin Surf serves as an example, being the third 100% electric vehicle sold in our market, trailing only Tesla and BYD’s cheapest zero-emission model. Also the Renault 5 electric, which since its arrival has tended to be among the 10 best-selling electric cars in Spain.
