Ford will free up much needed production capacity in North America by moving Fiesta production from Mexico and India to Thailand in 2016, according to a Michigan newspaper.
Sources told the Detroit News the automaker plans to move the Fiesta from its Cuautitlán plant in Mexico and Chennai in India to a centralised factory in Thailand.
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Ford late in 2010 started making the Fiesta at its AutoAlliance joint venture plant in Rayong that also makes the automaker’s Ranger (different from the older US version) and Mazda’s BT-50 pickup trucks.
A year ago, it opened a second plant in Rayong to build the Fiesta. The plants supply numerous Asian markets as well as Australia, which has a free trade agreement with Thailand, and New Zealand. In Australia and New Zealand, Thai Fiestas replaced European-built cars imported previously.
The Fiesta also is made at seven other plants across the globe.
“We can’t divulge our future product plans, but we’re always looking for ways to optimise our global manufacturing capability,” Ford spokeswoman Kristina Adamski told the Detroit News.
A move to consolidate production makes sense, especially since the “critical mass” of current and future Fiesta sales is concentrated in Asia and nearby Europe, Jim Hall, analyst at 2953 Analytics, told the paper. “The question has been about what the future is for the Thailand plant,” Hall said. “It might have to do with utilising that plant. And they can always find something to backfill Mexico with.”
The report said Ford had optimised efficiency at its North American assembly plants which currently operate at 114% capacity – nearly all run two shifts and many run three.
Ford initially chose the Cuautitlán factory to build the Fiesta because the company could export the car to the US and Canada without paying import taxes, the Detroit News said.
