“You get one chance to really come at the market with the full power of Ford’s product portfolio, but you want to be able to look everybody in the eye and say you truly developed the vehicles for China so it does require some patience.”įord expects industry sales in China to hit about 30 million vehicles by 2020, up from 18.5 million last year.įord has said that its growth plans in China are part of its effort to increase global sales by about 50 percent from 2010 to about 8 million vehicles annually by mid-decade. “People say, ‘Are you too late?’ No,” he added. “We’re looking at this as how does Ford set itself up for success for the next several decades in Asia Pacific. “We’re looking at this more than just this quarter or this calendar year,” Ford’s Asia chief, Joe Hinrichs, said in an interview. Ford has now announced or begun building eight assembly and powertrain plants in Asia. The announcement comes two weeks after Ford said it would invest $600 million to build a third plant at its Chongqing complex in southwest China and is part of the largest and fastest expansion by the company since the 1960s in North America and Europe.
Construction is expected to begin later this year. automaker’s annual capacity in China by 250,000 vehicles when production begins in 2015. REUTERS/Carlos Barriaįord said the new plant in Hangzhou in Zhejiang province will initially boost the U.S. The new Ford Focus is displayed during the opening of the Shanghai Auto Show April 19, 2011.