Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) announced Friday
plans to build its third assembly plant in China, part of the automaker's bid to catch up with General Motor Co. and other rivals in Asia.
The $490 million facility, to be located in Chongqing, is scheduled to come online in 2012 and produce up to 150,000 vehicles per year. It initially will make Focus small sedans for Chinese consumers. The plant will be managed by Ford and two of its existing China joint venture partners: Chonqing Changan Automobile and Mazda Motor Corp., a long-time Ford collaborator.
Ford earlier this week
announced plans to invest $500 million to expand its plant in Chennai, India, as the company tries to play catch-up in Asian growth markets. While Ford has a strong and established presence in Europe and Latin America, it has fallen behind rivals in Asia. When the plant opens Changan, Ford Mazda will have the capacity to produce 600,000 vehicles a year in China, still less than half of what General Motors makes. Toyota meanwhile has the capacity to make about 800,000 vehicles annually in the country and is also looking to expand. -
Lou Whiteman
Lou Whiteman is a senior writer covering the automotive, transportation and industrial sectors. Follow him on Twitter @louwhiteman
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