Yesterday, Ford announced that it would be placing a larger emphasis on their manufacturing concerns in China over the coming years. In a move that primarily concerns units headed for the North American markets but could have repercussions in the Asia Pacific and Australia, the next Ford Focus might be built (predominantly) in the People’s Republic.
There are still many unknowns as to how this will play out for certain models meant for specific regions, but the short of it is that, to streamline costs, Ford will prioritise Chinese-based manufacturing to build their cars for export, at least for their smaller cars.
Currently, the third generation Ford Focus - a model that should see a replacement arrive within the next couple of years - is being built in multiple locations. The brand’s home state of Michigan being one, and Rayong in Thailand being another, the latter is where units destined for sale in Australia are sourced. They have revealed that production of an all-new model is slated to begin in the second half of 2019.
If the operational math makes sense to Ford’s upper management, consolidation of all manufacturing of the next (4th-generation) Focus to China could certainly happen. After all, the workforce there already have experience building the current car to apparently favourable results. Prior to tasking Chinese factories with the all-new car, production of the current Focus MK3 will gradually be concentrated there after mid-2018 as they repurpose their local assembly lines for the car in Michigan.
Under the original plan of acquiring the America-bound small cars from their new facility in Mexico, the current arrangement of a Thai-built next-generation Focus to serve buyers in Southeast Asia and Australia would have likely remained.
This announcement is also likely a manifestation of Ford’s cancelled plans to invest heavily into a new production facility in Mexico, scrapped following criticism from President Trump who complained that the jobs would come at the expense of American citizens being hired, threatening to impose taxes or tariffs on automakers that expand production in Mexico.
However, manufacturing of Ford’s most profitable models (at least those sold in North America) are usually larger, such as the F-150 pickup. Ford, in the same announcement, has confirmed that it will invest approximately $900 million US Dollars into revamping their Truck Plant in Louisville, Kentucky, a facility that will be responsible for rolling out the all-new Ford Expedition and Navigator SUV from subsidiary Lincoln.
“Large SUVs are attracting a new generation around the world – and we’re finding new ways to deliver the capability, versatility and technology that customers around the world really want with our all-new Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator,” said Joe Hinrichs, Ford executive vice president and president, Global Operations. “At the same time, we also have looked at how we can be more successful in the small car segment and deliver even more choices for customers in a way that makes business sense.”
“Finding a more cost-effective way to deliver the next Focus program in North America is a better plan, allowing us to redeploy the money we save into areas of growth for the company – especially sport utilities, commercial vehicles, performance vehicles as well as mobility, autonomous vehicles and electrified vehicles,” Hinrichs added.
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