Posted on 12/24/2017 6:13:52 AM PST by jjotto
New reports surfaced on Wednesday claiming Ford is planning to concentrate production of the next-generation Fusion mid-size sedan in China.
The current Fusion is produced at plants in Spain, Mexico and China. However, Automotive News (subscription required) and Reuters have learned from their respective sources that production of the next-generation Fusion, due in 2020, will take place exclusively in China.
The Spanish plant is safe as Ford in November said it will spend $887 million at the site to produce the next-generation Kuga, Europe's version of the Escape compact SUV.
It’s not clear what Ford has in store for the Mexican plant, which also produces the Lincoln MKZ. This month we learned that Ford will produce its planned electric SUV in Mexico starting in 2020, though this model is expected to be produced at a separate Mexican plant to the Fusion and MKZ plant.
When pushed for comment, Ford told Reuters that there are no plans to export a next-generation Fusion from China to either the United States or Europe, where the car is labeled a Mondeo, and that information on the next-generation Fusion/Mondeo will be announced at a later date.
If the reports are accurate, it may mean Ford plans to exit the mid-size sedan segment in North America or replace the Fusion with a new model. Sales of the current car are down 22 percent in the United States through November, highlighting the general decline in the market for passenger car sales.
Ford in a new strategy outlined in October said there will be fewer nameplates in the future, though the automaker didn’t say which current nameplates would be axed. The move is part of the automaker’s reaction to the consumer shift to SUVs, pickup trucks and electric cars, which the automaker sees as permanent.
Production locations remains a thorny issue for Ford which last year was criticized by President Donald Trump for proposing to move production of the Focus compact from Michigan to Mexico. The hubbub led to Ford confirming production of a new Ranger and Bronco in Michigan to fill the void of the Focus. The automaker has since confirmed that production of the Focus will take place in China instead of Mexico, and that the Chinese-made cars will be exported to the U.S.
Stay tuned for an update.
Wow!
Puebla, Mexico has become a major manufacturing center.
It rivals Monterrey.
Trump needs to follow through with a significant tariff on Fusions.
Well, that’s nice. Back in WW II Ford car factories built tanks. If - heaven forbid - there is another major war, will China allow us to build tanks in those Chinese Ford plants?
Well, no new Focus or Fusion for me.
Well, that’s nice. Back in WW II Ford car factories built tanks. If - heaven forbid - there is another major war, will China allow us to build tanks in those Chinese Ford plants?
A better question would be if the plants were in the US would Ford stop production of automobiles to build tanks?
We are living in a different world.
Maybe you missed...
If the reports are accurate, it may mean Ford plans to exit the mid-size sedan segment in North America or replace the Fusion with a new model.
Sales of the current car are down 22 percent in the United States through November
Trump needs to follow through with a significant tariff on Fusions.
...
Why? It’s made in Mexico, not the USA.
* 1st just because they will keep the Fusion nameplate in China, doesn't mean it will be approx the same size car.
* Other cars are being axed, think CMax which shares the Fusion Energi's plug-in hybrid drive train, if you opt for that.
* While Ford has denoted some of the platforms that will go away, my guess is as much as the auto press may want to pontificate, that kind of stuff is probaby held real close to the vest.
* Unless I heard wrong via radio or TV media that one plant in particular Flat Rock ( Mustang and Fusion ) was getting a bit land locked and running out of room(?). I don't know how much reserve real-estate they have and are they in a pinch, although the Mi-Ave plant where the new "Ranger" is slated to be built is huge.
The Fusion looks classy compared with most cars in a similar price range. A lot of cars nowadays are ugly. I suppose that means Ford will replace the Fusion with some ugly-looking thing. I don’t think they could give me a car that was made in China.
Simple solution:
1. Drive to your local Ford Dealership.
2. Test drive a Fusion.
3. Ask where the vehicle was manufactured.
4. If the answer is Mexico or China, say, “I cannot take a chance with this car. Just look at all the recall problems like the air bags initiators which were grenades that blew people’s heads off. Sorry, but I think I will go purchase a car I can count on.”
Do not wait until the 2020 model year. Ford needs to hear—and to worry—about customer loyalty issues now.
The size and weight of a modern tank is so much more than an automobile and the automation of the assembly line make the conversion of the line to produce a much larger vehicle nearly impossible.
Poorly written article.
“When pushed for comment, Ford told Reuters that there are no plans to export a next-generation Fusion from China to either the United States or Europe, where the car is labeled a Mondeo, and that information on the next-generation Fusion/Mondeo will be announced at a later date.”
“The automaker has since confirmed that production of the Focus will take place in China instead of Mexico, and that the Chinese-made cars will be exported to the U.S.”
Well, which is it?
The big three are no more “American” than any of the foreign based auto manufacturers. In the case of Ford and GM, they’re anti-American open borders one world government Marxists. It makes perfect sense they’re working intimately with China, France and Spain...they have the same ideology.
All true, but 2020/2021 model vehicles are just tomorrow in the auto world. Not many secrets about them.
Without government mpg/CO2 interference, conventional sedans would be already a much smaller market share. Ford may be making Escape/Explorer their main family vehicles.
Focus vs Fusion.
Looks like the Chinese Focus will be exported to the US, and they’re not admitting the Chinese Fusion will be.
Wasn’t a bad looking vehicle.
Fusion is a beautiful car, no doubt. Looks like a poor man’s Aston-Martin to me. The V6 Fusion is a sleeper. MKZs are very nice too.
Indeed. Retooling a factory from cars to something like an Abrams would be, at best, a hellish nightmare, as you’d need to substantially alter the entire facility
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