Ford’s Russian office says that the company will ship some 2,000 Ford Focus cars assembled in Europe to Russia in the beginning of 2006 to meet extra demand.
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Demand for Ford Focuses assembled in Russia has outstripped capacity at Ford’s factory near St. Petersburg, the statement says.
Approximately 30,000 potential buyers in Russia are currently waiting for a Focus according to Ford.
Ford opened its factory in the St Petersburg region in the summer of 2002. Production of Ford Focus models rose to 29,000 cars in 2004.
In May 2005, Ford introduced the Focus II to Russia, which is expected to sell 36,000 this year and as much as 60,000 units in 2006.
Ford is planning to invest $30 million to increase its Russian Focus manufacturing capacity to 60,000 cars per year.
In recent years, the share of the Russian car market taken by import brands has grown as income levels have risen and the market has moved away from the dominant cheaper models marketed by the established domestic producers, such as AvtoVAZ.
