New Focus to come from Thailand.

[vztrt]

Ford’s Thailand Focus

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...2577500002070A

Next-generation Focus to gain competitive edge as Ford confirms Thai production
28 June 2010
By MARTON PETTENDY
A BETTER-VALUE next-generation Focus built in Thailand appears likely to be Ford Australia’s direct response to Holden’s Australian-made Cruze sedan and hatch.

General Motors has committed to switching production of Australia’s Cruze sedan from Korea to Adelaide early next year, when a locally design Cruze hatchback derivative will also enter production alongside the Commodore at Elizabeth.

Now it seems almost certain that Ford Australia, which announced plans to build the third-generation Focus at Broadmeadows in July 2007 before cancelling them in July last year, will respond by importing a more competitively priced and/or specified Focus from Thailand, which has a free-trade agreement with Australia.

Four-door sedan and five-door hatchback versions of the MkIII Focus made their global debuts at the Detroit motor show in January, when the Ford Motor Co said it next Focus would be sold in 122 countries after production started in North America and Europe in early 2012.

At the time, Ford announced just four manufacturing sites for the 2012 Focus – Saarlouis in Germany, Detroit in the US, St Petersburg in Russia and Chongqing in China. Pretoria in South Africa, which produces Australia’s Focus sedan and hatch – and was to have imported the Australian-made Focus – was not listed.

While Ford Australia will not comment on the issue, the question of where Australia’s next Focus will come from appears to have been answered by news late last week that Ford will invest $US450 million ($A515m) to construct a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant to produce the Focus in Thailand from 2012.

The new passenger car plant will have initial production capacity of 150,000 vehicles, with 85 per cent of production destined for markets outside Thailand. Ford said the new plant would produce the next-generation Focus from 2012 for Thailand and other Asia-Pacific markets, as part of its aggressive expansion strategy in the local and Africa regions.

The new 750,000 square-metre assembly plant, which will be fully integrated to support body assembly, paint, trim and final assembly, will be at Rayong, where the company already has a joint-venture factory with Mazda, which recently shifted Mazda2 production from Japan to Thailand.

Ford has also committed to producing its latest Fiesta in Thailand for Australia this year, though there is no word on Mazda3 production in Thailand.

Ford, which previously said the next Focus platform will eventually spawn up to 10 individual model derivatives, said the highly flexible new facility will “be capable of producing a diversified range of products in the future”.

The next-gen Focus will be built on the company’s new global C-car platform, which Ford says will eventually underpin up to two million vehicles globally. The (small) C-car segment is the world’s largest vehicle segment and Ford predicts it will account for nearly 28 per cent of global passenger car sales by 2013.

“Today’s announcement is another important step in our aggressive expansion in the Asia Pacific region to meet demand for our world-class Ford products in this fast-growing region,” said Ford Motor Co president and CEO Alan Mulally.

“Globally, we are committed to delivering a full line-up of Ford brand vehicles with best-in-class quality, fuel efficiency, safety, and smart technology that customers want and value.”

Ford said it would buy up to $US800 million ($A915m) worth of local components a year through Thailand's local supplier network, and that the facility has the potential to support up to 11,000 new jobs – including 2200 direct factory jobs.

Ford Asia Pacific and Africa president Joe Hinrichs said the investment underscored Ford’s long term commitment to Thailand and its role as a global production and export hub for Ford.

“The decision to build our new plant was supported by Thailand’s world-class automotive industry, and logistics and export infrastructure,” he said.

“Thailand's commitment to the continued growth of its world-class auto industry has given Ford the opportunity to further leverage the skilled local work force and market expertise, as well as the strategic footprint that we have already established in Thailand.”

[FG XR]

thought ford aus was building their own focus here to create jobs? obviously not. Heres to build quality.

[Wretched]

Originally Posted by Coyote V8

thought ford aus was building their own focus here to create jobs? obviously not. Heres to build quality.

Actually you will find many car makers including Mazda, Toyota and Honda have factories in Thailand. All of which have decent quality cars being assembled there.
I wouldn't be so quick to down their assembly skills when the locals aren't kicking goals in that area.

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by Coyote V8

thought ford aus was building their own focus here to create jobs? obviously not.

Focus production was canned a fair while back as it was seen as unprofitable to build a small car in Oz.

[Fordman]

I dont think it will be too bad, definatly no worse than south africa

[Road_Warrior]

I'm betting we will see Mondeos and maybe even Kuga come from this plant eventually...

[JC807]

Originally Posted by Coyote V8

thought ford aus was building their own focus here to create jobs? obviously not. Heres to build quality.

my Thai-built Hilux has far superior build quality to my Ford.

[galaxy xr8]

Originally Posted by Wretched

Actually you will find many car makers including Mazda, Toyota and Honda have factories in Thailand. All of which have decent quality cars being assembled there.
I wouldn't be so quick to down their assembly skills when the locals aren't kicking goals in that area.

Exactly, well said.

[Joe5619]

Question is, this plant will not be ready until early 2012.. So, will we have to wait until mid 2012 for the next Focus? Very very very long wait time... If not, were will our one come from if South Africia is not built the new one at all??

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by Joe5619

Question is, this plant will not be ready until early 2012.. So, will we have to wait until mid 2012 for the next Focus? Very very very long wait time... If not, were will our one come from if South Africia is not built the new one at all??

European plants in the interim. There's also plants elsewhere in the Asia Pacific that make Focuses (Focii?)

[Brazen]

Originally Posted by Road_Warrior

European plants in the interim. There's also plants elsewhere in the Asia Pacific that make Focuses (Focii?)

Nah nothing in the Asia Pacific region. Hence why Australia would have been perfect, scheduled to be built here early 2011. Now they have to wait to build a $450million plant in Thailand.

[uranium_death]

To build the Focus here would have been nice, but there's probably a little reason why Ford has looked after itself well after the GFC.

Building vehicles here would either mean higher prices to consumers, or larger losses to Ford.

Thailand is far more viable. Another wise move. We should all reserve judgement on build quality etc. until we actually get one down here rather than kick the announcement before it's even hatched.

[Franco Cozzo]

Honda makes its Civic in Thailand, only a few minor problems with it, which is down to some production line errors in some cars.

[Danny]

Originally Posted by Wretched

Actually you will find many car makers including Mazda, Toyota and Honda have factories in Thailand. All of which have decent quality cars being assembled there.
I wouldn't be so quick to down their assembly skills when the locals aren't kicking goals in that area.

100% Spot on mate

[vztrt]

http://theage.drive.com.au/motor-new...0630-zlq7.html

Cheaper Ford Focus beckons MATT CAMPBELL
June 30, 2010

Ford's next-generation Focus should be considerably better value and better equipped, after the company confirmed a manufacturing shift to Thailand.

Australian-delivered models of Ford's Focus small car are set to come out of Asia from 2012, after Ford announced a new US$450 million ($530 million) manufacturing plant in Thailand.

The new Focus was set to be built in Australia from next year before Ford Australia cancelled the plan to concentrate on more fuel efficient versions of the Falcon and Territory, declaring it couldn't make the hatchback a financially feasible proposition.

Thailand production, however, would give the local car maker the opportunity to either lower the Focus's pricing or boost its equipment levels by taking advantage of both lower manufacturing costs and the zero import tariff that results from the free trade agreement between the Asian nation and Australia.

Ford says the new factory will produce up to 150,000 vehicles per year, with 85 per cent of output distributed to other markets in the Asia-Pacific region.

Ford Australia's assembly source for the smaller Fiesta is already confirmed to switch later this year to the blue oval's other plant in Thailand, which is shared with Mazda (where it builds its twin to the Fiesta, the 2). The company, though, remains tight-lipped on the Focus's production future. The current model is built in South Africa.

"The next-generation Focus is still some time away for us so it's too early for us to be specific about pricing or feature content," says Ford Australia spokeswoman Sinead McAlary. "However, we generally try and ensure that we offer customers the perfect combination of price and features and we'll continue that strategy with the next Focus."

The Focus is a crucial vehicle for Ford Australia as it looks to become more competitive in the country's biggest-selling segment, and make it a stronger rival for the likes of the Toyota Corolla and the Holden Cruze, which will be built in Australia from next year.

Ford says the move to Thailand could potentially employ up to 11,000 staff both directly and indirectly, and that while the plant in Rayong, Thailand, will start off building Focus small cars, it has the ability to expand for other future models, too.

Ford president and CEO Alan Mulally says the plant will provide easy access to the Asia Pacific region, and will mean better value for buyers once it's up and running.

"Globally, we are committed to delivering a full line-up of Ford brand vehicles with best-in-class quality, fuel efficiency, safety, and smart technology that customers want and value," says Mulally.

Ford says that global demand for small cars should increase to 28 per cent by 2013, and it plans to sell two million vehicles globally per year that are based on the Focus.

As Drive has previously reported, the next-generation Focus will also be built with a wagon variant, as well as seven-seat compact people-mover and soft-roader versions (similar to the European-offered Kuga compact SUV and C-Max people-mover).