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.
Hybrids seem like a no-brainer. Takes the strain off high-wear low speeds in IC engines. Capturing lost energy via regenerative braking adds real efficiency. Plenty of hybrids crack the 5.5 second sports sedan benchmark.
... And it will likely take all the time until 2020 to re-tool that plant in Mexico. Designing a prototype is one thing. Building the assembly line, tooling and parts pipeline takes an enormous investment in time & capital.
Coming soon. Buicks built in China. How many kinds of toxic materials will they exude upon their drivers, as drywall and kids’ toys from China have done, remains to be seen. Guess I’ll pick a Jap car that’s built in the U.S.A. .
Depends a lot on the type of driving you do. I’m not in bumper to bumper suburban traffic where that will benefit me at all. We should all be able to buy a car designed to fit our needs, but when it comes to the IC engine I get the idea that I might be owning my last right now.
GM tried to keep a Mexican factory afloat.
They closed it after a fairly short time. Seems coming back to work more days after they got a couple of paychecks was an idea the Mexicans didn’t understand.
I don’t remember where that factory was.
I would guess IC-only vehicles would still be available, but the mainstream best-selling vehicles will likely all be hybrids. They make sense in the market with today’s technology.
That said, greenies aren’t going away. Laws mandating electric-only vehicles are going to spread city to city.
I’d love to see the 60s style Bronco body style come back.
Lately, I’ve been seeing more full sized ones on the streets here on Columbia.
I need to change the oil on my 79 Blazer.
Perhaps some don’t understand that hybrids are mainly IC powered, with supplemental electrical energy captured from the car itself. Some add a plug-in option, but work fine without being plugged in.
The Fusion Hybrids are great, especially the prior model up to 2012.
Chrysler has had a Mexican presence for decades.
I remember seeing Plymouth Acapulcos and Desoto sedans back in the mid 60s.
A few years ago, I crossed over from El Paso to visit a customer and noticed a used pickup lot in Juarez. All were Mexican-made Dodges, up on cement blocks, their tired removed to prevent stealing...
High end Volvos are now produced in China
Buick Envision is built in China and imported into the USA, and there are probably a few others I haven’t noticed.
The Fusion is a piece of Ford Junk anyways. The electronic power steering is a nightmare. I would guess that people have been killed from it.
Not so much if used with regular fuel (degrades performance/economy) or without the turbocharger. In addition, the turbocharger is a ~$2200 replacement in itself- nearly half of it being labor.
The only way I’d go for one is if they managed to cut replacement costs by a factor of 5-10, with a block that already performs well without one.
“Re: Hybrid/Electric”
The only thing that hybrid/electric will do (IMHO) is eliminate the easily identified econobox engine as a target of complaint.
The last Ford I ever owned was a 1968 model. I don’t see that changing any time soon.
Fusion is the top-selling sedan from an American company, and has been for years.
Well, aren’t I the idiot....
I am an idiot....
Doubly so given no V6 option on the Mustang. You either get a glitzy Mustang II or a 5.0L V8 - no middle ground.
Ford has done everything in my book to make a case for Chrysler, GM, or whomever can deliver a V6 as a base level engine in an affordable package.
They need to change the look of the grill on the Ford Fusion.
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