(Reuters) – Ford Motor Co is in talks with Chinese electric-vehicle maker BYD Co over the sale of a manufacturing plant in Germany, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The factory in discussion is the Saarlouis plant, where vehicle production is slated to eventually end in 2025, the WSJ report said, adding that the talks are still in a preliminary stage and may ultimately fall through.
Ford, which manufactures its Focus compact model at the plant, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Rising costs for electric vehicle battery materials and projected slowdown in the United States and European economies are putting pressure on automakers to cut expenses.
Separately, Ford said on Tuesday that it intends to decide by mid-February on how many jobs will be cut in Europe after announcing plans to cut up to 3,200 jobs at a factory in the German city of Cologne.
The report said Ford is also gauging interest from around 15 potential investors, but terms of the deal could not be learned.
(Reporting by Kannaki Deka in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
