[Image courtesy of www.ford.com]
CBI member Ford Motor Company recently announced that it will expand its manufacturing facilities in Chongqing in southwestern China.
Ford and its joint venture Changan Ford Mazda Automobile (CFMA) will invest approximately US$600 million to expand capacity in Chongqing by 350,000 passenger vehicles, raising total capacity in China to 950,000 vehicles annually.
The new investment will increase Ford's total investment in China to approximately US$4.1 billion.
Ford plans to introduce 15 new vehicles and 20 new engines and transmissions in China by 2015 as part of its plan to broaden its product portfolio and powertrain offering in China.
Joe Hinrichs, President of Ford Asia Pacific and Africa, said, "We are going further in China and across Africa. This expansion is an investment in Ford's long-term future globally, and will help us to achieve our goal of increasing worldwide sales by nearly 50% by mid-decade to about 8 million vehicles per year. With this additional investment and capacity expansion, Ford continues to lay the foundation for long-term growth in the world's largest automotive market."
Dave Schoch, Chairman and CEO of Ford China, said, "With a current growth rate of about 5%, the Chinese auto industry remains the biggest growth market in the world. Expanding our production capacity in Chongqing is a key part of our aggressive growth plans in China and Asia, and will allow us to bring more high quality, safe, fuel efficient, fun-to-drive vehicles from our global portfolio to Chinese customers."
Please click here to read the full press release by Ford.