Ford Chief Executive Mark Fields said that all of the automaker’s small-car production would be shifted from USA plants to lower-cost Mexico.
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Fields said that Ford planned to shift a majority of its small vehicle production around the world to low-priced countries by 2019, which could affect Ford’s Western European auto production. Shifting production to a lower-labor-cost country makes “particular economic sense” with small cars, he said. The company announced that the migration of the production facility would be to Mexico. He additionally suggested a 35 percent import tariff on any Mexican-built cars Ford sells in the U.S.
Ford now makes its Fiesta subcompact in Mexico, but its Focus and C-Max small cars are made in suburban Detroit.
The move will involve building a $1.6 billion auto assembly plant which will generate about 2,800 jobs in the area.
“We shouldn’t allow it to happen”, Trump said.
Ford is not the only automaker that has announced plans to increase production in Mexico.
At the same time, automakers are still investing heavily in maintaining and retooling their existing US plants.
“I don’t know how you can talk down American workers and American businesses and want to be president of the United States”, said Clinton at the time. Investment in Mexico totaled just under $26 billion during the same period. He said Ford produces more vehicles and has more hourly workers in the us than any other automaker. “It’s really been a case of us missing out on the growth in the industry”.
The automaker said automotive capital expenditures will rise to 5.6 per cent of automotive revenue in 2018, from 4.9 per cent in 2016. Furthermore, since the small cars of the company are considered to be price-sensitive, minimization of the production costs would afford them a competitive advantage against market heavyweights.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is also effectively ending small-car production in the United States, shifting its focus to more profitable pickups and crossover SUVs.
Ford CEO Mark Fields confirmed suspicions that the company would shift production of its next generation Focus compact auto and various derivatives to Mexico in an interview with The Detroit News.
Ford cars are assembled at a plant of Ford India in Chengalpattu, on the outskirts of Chennai, India, March 5, 2012. However, this may not be a great platform from which to launch attacks on NAFTA and other free-trade agreements. The second-largest US automaker said it plans to reduce costs annually by $3 billion between this year and 2018.
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“He’s trying to impose costs on USA manufacturing that will make them less competitive”, Schott said.
