A previously-discussed Ford electric car based on Volkswagen's MEB platform will be built in Germany, at one of the Blue Oval's own factories, Automotive News reported Sunday.

Ford will invest $1.2 billion in a factory located in Cologne to ready it for electric-car production, according to the report, which cited local newspaper Koelner-Stadt Anzeiger.

The factory reportedly designated for EV production currently builds the Ford Fiesta subcompact, but Ford has been building cars in the region since the 1930s. Cologne reportedly beat out a Ford factory in Romania for the job.

In response to the report, a Ford spokesperson told Automotive News that the company does not comment on speculation. However, in 2019, then-Ford CEO James Hackett said the MEB-based electric car would be built at a Ford factory in Europe.

VW MEB platform

Talk of a potential Ford/VW collaboration on EVs goes back to 2018, with the two automakers confirming a partnership in January 2019.

Later that year, Ford and VW elaborated that the deal would include a Ford electric car for Europe, based on VW's MEB platform, and scheduled to launch in 2023.

Ford also still has access to Rivian's platform, and is potentially working on a different EV for the United States, after plans for a Rivian-based Lincoln EV were aborted.

This strategy will give Ford an unusual mix of EVs based on outsourced platforms, and vehicles developed completely in-house, such as the Mustang Mach-E electric SUV and the upcoming F-150 Electric pickup truck, expected to launch in 2022. The Mach-E is built in Mexico, while the F-150 will be built alongside internal-combustion versions of the truck in Michigan.