Ford Almussafes turns 50 as the company plans five new vehicles for the Valencia plant from 2028. The proposed additions would join Kuga production at a factory that has built 10 million vehicles.
Ford says its Almussafes factory is due to add five new vehicles from 2028, alongside the Kuga. The planned line-up includes a compact SUV from the Bronco family, two multi-energy crossovers, an electric hatchback and a small electric SUV. Ford Europe and China’s Geely Holding Group are also planning a production partnership at the Valencia site. Under the proposed division of models, two SUVs would carry the Geely name and a multi-energy crossover would be a Ford; the Bronco programme had been announced earlier.
That is a plan, not a production start. The programme is expected to roll out in stages: preparation for the Bronco would follow a period of low factory activity, with other models arriving later.
The announcement came as the Valencia plant marked 50 years since the first Ford Fiesta left its assembly line on 18 October 1976. The factory was officially opened by King Juan Carlos I on 25 October that year. The new models would give the factory a future programme beyond its current Kuga production. EFE reported that Almussafes has made only the Kuga since April 2024; the model entered production there in December 2012. The factory employs more than 4,000 people, according to El Español.
Almussafes began as a major industrial project. Henry Ford II laid its first stone on 26 March 1974; the first Fiesta rolled off the line two years later, and Juan Carlos I officially opened the site about a week afterwards. The plant’s early growth ran alongside Spain’s transition to democracy and the expansion of its manufacturing base. Over five decades, its production roster has included the Fiesta, Mondeo, Orion, Focus, Galaxy, Escort, Ka, Kuga, Mazda2, S-Max, C-Max and Transit Connect.
The factory reached one million Fiestas on 2 January 1981, the year production of the Ford Escort also began. In 1996, it opened its supplier industrial park and started building the Ford Ka. That closer supplier network became part of a more integrated production model.
Almussafes reached 10 million engines in 2000 and built its 10 millionth vehicle in October 2009. The Ford Kuga entered production in December 2012; the Ford Mondeo followed in 2014, with a hybrid version added later. The milestones chart changes in the plant’s output across different vehicle types and manufacturing eras.
A 2016 study by the Universidad Europea de Valencia estimated that each direct job at Ford supported 5.82 jobs in the Valencian Community and 11.73 across Spain, counting direct, indirect and induced effects. It also estimated that Ford’s activity supported more than 60,000 jobs in the region. These are study estimates, not a current employment count. The gap between factory plans and what reaches individual markets also appears in recent Jimny market coverage, which reported a market-specific allocation.
Ford’s anniversary events also included an initiative focused on inclusion. On 7 October 2026, Ford España and Grupo Social ONCE presented a commemorative coupon linked to their more than 25 years of collaboration on employment inclusion for people with disabilities. Five and a half million coupons feature the Valencia factory.
Workers have also flagged the gap before the new programmes begin. EFE reported that Carlos Faubel, chair of the Almussafes works committee, said the plant could need Spain’s temporary employment regulation scheme, known as an ERTE, in 2027 during the period of low activity before Bronco production preparations. The new programme is expected to restore factory activity and support employment.
