27.04.2021

FORD IS INVESTING $ 300 MILLION IN ITS PLANT IN ROMANIA

US car giant Ford Motor Company will invest $ 300m (248m euros) in a new light truck project at its plant in Craiova, Romania. Production will start in 2023, and a year later the construction of a fully electric version of the cars will begin, the company said, quoted by seenews.com. This will be Ford's first fully electric car to be produced in Romania.

"Our plan to build this new van in Romania reflects both our fruitful and growing partnership with local suppliers and the community, and the success of the entire Ford Craiova team," said Ford of Europe President Stuart Rowley.

"With the introduction of the fully electric version in 2024, Craiova will become our fourth plant in Europe to produce fully electric vehicles. The investment in Craiova comes against the background of other announced investments in the Ford Electrified Vehicle Center in Cologne (Germany) and at the Kocaeli plant of Ford Otosan in Turkey and sends a clear signal about our promise to offer European consumers zero-emission trucks," says Rowley.

The new van, which will start production in 2023, will be equipped with some of Ford's most advanced petrol and diesel engines manufactured at the Ford Dagenham plant in the UK. The car will be manufactured by Ford Halewood Transmissions Limited, which is also based in the UK.

The exact date from which production will start, as well as other additional details will be revealed before the official start of the activity, Ford added. According to Rowley, the new investment demonstrates the company's hopes that the Romanian government will deliver all the key improvements promised to support the region's competitive manufacturing environment, including transport infrastructure.

In February, Ford said it would offer a full range of electric and hybrid trucks in Europe by 2024. The company expects by 2030 2/3 of all truck sales to be electric or hybrid models.

Ford entered Romania in March 2008, when it completed the acquisition of a 72.4% stake in Automobile Craiova, owner of carmaker and distributor Daewoo Automobile Romania. Since then, Ford has invested more than 2 billion euros in the Craiova plant, creating more than 6,300 jobs.

The company currently produces the Puma and EcoSport models, as well as the EcoBoost 1.0 engine in its Romanian power. In July 2020, Ford announced a $ 30 million investment in a new line at the Craiova plant to produce a wide range of components that are powered by the company's other facilities in Europe.