By 2018 Ford will have shifted production
of its next-generation compact cars from its Wayne sited assembly plant in Michigan
to Mexico in the next couple of years.
And the
United Auto Workers (UAW) union is also set to begin negotiations over jobs and
wage rates in the Wayne plant that currently builds the Focus
passenger car and hatchback; as well as C-Max hybrids for
North America.
Ford has said it will move production of the next-generation Ford Focus and C-MAX, which
currently are built at Michigan Assembly Plant (MAP), beginning in 2018.
“We actively are pursuing future
vehicle alternatives to produce at Michigan Assembly and will discuss this
issue with UAW leadership as part of the upcoming negotiations,” Ford added.
Ford has two assembly plants in Mexico, currently building
the Fiesta at a Cuautitlán plant and the Fusion and Lincoln MKZ in Hermosillo.
The next-generation Fiesta could be sourced from Thailand,
implying perhaps that the Focus and C-Max could be moved to Cuautitlán.
The UAW said it was “confident” Ford would find a use for the
Wayne plant when Focus and C-Max production ends in 2017. Without a shadow of
doubt, Ford will find a use for MAP – it will not permanently shutter such an important
facility at this time, even though Ford is confining production there in a bid
to reduce small car inventories.
In April, the company announced a $2.5-billion
investment as well as a new Mexican plant to
build engines and transmissions.
Ford's sales of compact cars (like Fiesta and Focus) have
been falling in recent months and the move to Mexico could be a way to keep
profits stable as sales of SUVs and crossovers have, at the same time, been
seen to blossom.
According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Ford is planning around $1 billion to
build a new vehicle-assembly complex in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosi,
and will expand an existing factory near Mexico City. The plants are expected
to be up and running in time to add about 500,000 units of production starting
in 2018.
These moves will more than double the company's existing
production capacity in Mexico. Ford built about 433,000 vehicles in Mexico in
2015, representing 14% of its North American production.
In the US, demand for SUVs and pickup trucks is high, with
buyers migrating from traditional sedan choices to car-based
"crossover" SUVs. Ford is struggling to maintain keep up demand and
there is talk the Dearborn-based company could sell even more Explorers, Edges,
and Escapes.
At the same time, faced with falling sales of smaller cars
and the financial issue of the US being a more costly place to make cars (a new
four-year labour wage agreement has made the US relatively more expensive) so moving
less profitable product to lower-cost centre Mexico appears to make sense. According
to Transport Topics this week, labour
rates paid in US are now $37.62/hour compared with $8.24/hour in Mexico!
One solution could be for Ford to shift most of its sedan
production to Mexico, allowing it to use existing US facilities to make more expensive
(and profitable) SUVs and trucks.
The WSJ sees Ford using
its expanded Mexican production capacity to build a new hybrid vehicle intended
to rival Toyota's Prius and other unnamed models.
Ford already makes the Fiesta and some Fusions in Mexico, and
as Ford suggests it will move the next-generation Focus and C-Max, currently
made in Michigan, to Mexico in 2018, so that it can use the Michigan plant to
make a new Ranger pickup, and an SUV.
Ford is also expected to halt US production of Fusion and use
that car's capacity in Michigan to manufacture the new Lincoln Continental.
1 comment:
Oil companies worldwide, and to a lesser extent auto makers, say the fall in gasoline and diesel prices can’t continue indefinitely. They will, they say, go back to 2013 levels in a year or two.
But the average American Joe going out to buy a new car today evidently thinks differently. The erstwhile vehicle downsizing trend, motivated by a need to cut fuel bills has, judging by US sales figures, gone into reverse. This AIN story confirms it.
To the delight of Ford, GM, FCA et al, sales of gas (and diesel) guzzling – and profitable – SUVs are burgeoning, while demand for much more fuel-efficient, small sedans, built on tight margins, is dwindling.
So the evident myopia of the customer – ‘let tomorrow look after itself’ – is being exploited by the manufacturers, making hay while the cheap fuel sun shines.
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