Ford Australia will continue to contribute significantly to the brand's products globally.
During CEO Mark Fields’ visit to Australia, Ford announced that it will be investing no less than half a billion dollars to strengthen its local design and engineering facilities, reports the Daily Telegraph. This comes three months after the Blue Oval closed its production facilities Down Under, bringing the oldest local automotive factory to its end.
Mr. Fields, during his visit, met members of the Government to express his interest in seeing automotive design and engineering talent in Australia continue to flourish, with local graduates able to compete on a global level. The CEO then went on to ease concerns by saying that the design and engineering facilities Ford maintains in Broadmeadows and Geelong will remain one of only three hubs of its kind for the brand, globally.
Once the factories of Holden and Toyota wind down by late 2017, Ford will be the largest single employer in the Australian automotive sector. At present, the design and engineering team at Ford Australia stands at over 1,500, an increase of almost 30% since the marque announced the shuttering of its Australian production facilities in 2013. By comparison, Toyota has only retained necessary staff, where Holden has axed all but 300 employees.
The Broadmeadows office, formerly Ford’s Australian headquarters, is currently being refitted to make room for the expansion in the design and engineering team. The facility is expected to develop vehicles from scratch, that will see production in the United States, Thailand, China, India, and Argentina. The half-billion dollar investment will see $450mil thrown at vehicle research and development, whereas the remaining $50mil will be put to use expanding the Broadmeadows facility, which will add a new design studio, among other things.
When queried why Ford considers Australia to be so crucial to their global R&D framework, Mr. Fields said “It’s crucial to us globally, and our investment shows that we want Australia to shoulder a bigger part of our product development efforts around the world.” He then went on to say that Ford has invested over $2bil in the last six years on Australian research and development efforts.
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