WAYNE, Mich. — Ford Motor Co. stripped "truck” from the name of a Detroit-area plant Wednesday as it announced plans to build a next-generation Focus here, including a battery-electric version Ford hopes will run up to 100 miles without using gas or emitting greenhouse gases.
While Chrysler LLC sells assets in a New York bankruptcy court, and General Motors Corp. works around the clock on ways to cut labor costs and debt before a government-imposed deadline, Chairman Bill Ford Jr. and CEO Alan Mulally announced plans to invest $550 million to retool the Michigan Truck Plant to make small cars to be sold worldwide.
"In the worst of times worldwide, we’re here today to celebrate a plan to profitably grow Ford,” Mulally said.
"We’re fighting for the soul of manufacturing in the United States of America and worldwide.”
Mulally said that the Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker would build more than 2 million vehicles a year on its small C-car platform globally.
Ford and Mulally were flanked by a crowd of 500 employees, reporters and state officials, including Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
About the plant
The retooled facility, which once built hefty sport utility vehicles like the Lincoln Navigator and is now called the Michigan Assembly Plant, will build Ford’s next-generation Focus, expected to roll off the line next year. Those cars will be sold globally.
The plant also will build a new battery-electric version of the Focus for the North American market in conjunction with battery maker Magna. That vehicle is expected to debut on the market in 2011.
"We’re building the highest tech vehicle in our fleet here in Michigan,” Ford said. "It going to be a critical step toward the commercialization and ultimately the acceptance of electric vehicles.”
The plant that once helped maintain Ford’s profitability, is expected to do the same with the Focus, Mulally said.
Ford, which lost $1.4 billion in the first quarter, said roughly 3,200 jobs will be created in Michigan because of the plant conversion and will reopen late next year.
Ford shares rose 41 cents, or 7.01 percent, Wednesday to close at $6.26.
While Chrysler LLC sells assets in a New York bankruptcy court, and General Motors Corp. works around the clock on ways to cut labor costs and debt before a government-imposed deadline, Chairman Bill Ford Jr. and CEO Alan Mulally announced plans to invest $550 million to retool the Michigan Truck Plant to make small cars to be sold worldwide.
"In the worst of times worldwide, we’re here today to celebrate a plan to profitably grow Ford,” Mulally said.
"We’re fighting for the soul of manufacturing in the United States of America and worldwide.”
Mulally said that the Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker would build more than 2 million vehicles a year on its small C-car platform globally.
Ford and Mulally were flanked by a crowd of 500 employees, reporters and state officials, including Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
About the plant
The retooled facility, which once built hefty sport utility vehicles like the Lincoln Navigator and is now called the Michigan Assembly Plant, will build Ford’s next-generation Focus, expected to roll off the line next year. Those cars will be sold globally.
The plant also will build a new battery-electric version of the Focus for the North American market in conjunction with battery maker Magna. That vehicle is expected to debut on the market in 2011.
"We’re building the highest tech vehicle in our fleet here in Michigan,” Ford said. "It going to be a critical step toward the commercialization and ultimately the acceptance of electric vehicles.”
The plant that once helped maintain Ford’s profitability, is expected to do the same with the Focus, Mulally said.
Ford, which lost $1.4 billion in the first quarter, said roughly 3,200 jobs will be created in Michigan because of the plant conversion and will reopen late next year.
Ford shares rose 41 cents, or 7.01 percent, Wednesday to close at $6.26.
by the associated press
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