Ford is preparing to sell its German factory, with BYD and other three companies as the main bidders

CTOnews.com, June 6 (Xinhua)-- Ford Motor Company is about to reach an agreement to sell its German plant, and two groups of automakers from China are said to be among the three main bidders, according to Bloomberg.

One of the bids came from BYD and the other involved several smaller Chinese car companies, according to people familiar with the matter. Ford and Sal, where the plant is located, are also in talks with a German solar panel maker, according to people familiar with the matter.

Ford is said to be seeking a preliminary agreement on the sale later this month, and the carmaker will stop producing cars at its Sal Louis plant in 2025, with about a year left. The plant is currently responsible for assembling Ford focus compact cars and employs about 4600 people.

People familiar with the matter also stressed that there was no guarantee that the deal would be completed by the deadline later this month. Negotiations, they say, could also fail. Ford said it was committed to revamping its Saarlouis plant and creating future jobs, while declined to comment further, while spokesmen for BYD and the Saar Ministry of economy who were involved in the negotiations declined to comment.

It is worth mentioning that Ford will also cut thousands of jobs to reduce its size in Europe and invest billions of dollars in restructuring for the electric age.

Next week, German Chancellor Olaf Schultz will attend the opening of Ford's electric car plant in Cologne, which will be overhauled at a cost of $2 billion (CTOnews.com Note: about 14.22 billion yuan) and will start producing electric cars later this year.