Ford’s plan to shift Focus production to Mexico means GM will be left as the only major US automaker still building small cars on its home soil.
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Ford Motor Company on Wednesday said its pre-tax profit would decline for a second straight year in 2017 as the company invests heavily in electrified and driverless cars.
Ford now makes its Fiesta subcompact in Mexico, but its Focus and C-Max small cars are made in suburban Detroit. “They’ll make their cars, they’ll employ thousands and thousands of people, not from this country…and we’ll have nothing but more unemployment in Flint”.
The $1.6 billion Ford assembly plant in Mexico has always been a target of Donald Trump’s attacks, with him calling it an “absolute disgrace” last April.
Ford expects the move will help the company make its production simpler and less expensive. Ford said at the time that the new plant is for small auto production but refused to confirm that the Focus and C-Max would would be the vehicles made there.
“It’s really unfortunate when politics get in the way of the facts, and the facts are Ford’s investment in the US and commitment to American jobs has never been stronger”, Mark Fields said in an interview with CNN. The deficit is largely due to a recall of 2.4 million vehicles for defective door latches that will cost Ford $640 billion.
Fields is expected to highlight the prospects for Ford to jump-start growth over the next several years by developing new businesses using autonomous, or self-driving, vehicles and internet-enabled services such as shuttle vans that can be hailed using a smartphone app.
Then there is the high-stakes competition to develop and refine fully autonomous vehicles that initially will be used in ride-sharing services. Chevy recently debuted its first Chinese-made SUV it intends to import into the U.S. But GM is already importing cars from a list of foreign countries.
Ford continues to present its corporate strategy to more than 100 analyst and investors throughout the day. The stock is down nearly 14 per cent so far this year.
Donald Trump doesn’t like the idea of a formerly US company moving to Mexico, says CNBC, and says he will vow to pressure them back into the United States.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump lamented Ford’s decision while speaking Wednesday at a church in Flint, Michigan. A personal-use driverless auto will be available in dealerships around the middle of next decade, Mr. Fields said.
Ford has focused on smaller startups in such fields as laser sensors, mapping, artificial intelligence and data analytics.
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It had warned in recent months that this year’s financial results will be hurt by a safety recall, costs related to Brexit and a slowdown in the US auto market.
