Ford may announce next week new sedan and ‘cross-over’ models for its Chicago assembly plant, Bloomberg News reported, citing industry analysts.
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Bloomberg said that Ford has scheduled a news conference for next Wednesday during the Chicago Auto Show. The conference relates to the plant but the company provided no more details, Bloomberg added.
Chicago Assembly currently builds Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable sedans, which also are made in Atlanta, but Ford executives have said that demand for the cars is no longer enough for two factories, Bloomberg said.
The new models expected to be built in Chicago may be based on a platform and other major components from a vehicle in Ford’s Volvo unit, Rebecca Lindland, a senior analyst at DRI-WEFA, told Bloomberg.
Earlier, car parts maker Tower Automotive’s chief executive officer, Dugald Campbell, told Bloomberg News that the firm had received a Ford order to assemble most of the frames for two vehicles starting in the second quarter of 2004.
Campbell told Bloomberg that the vehicles, a tall wagon and sedan, will be produced at the Chicago plant.
However, Ford spokeswoman Della DiPietro told Bloomberg: “We have not concluded an agreement with Tower.”
