Ford Group Vice President (and Ford Europe’s Chairman) Stephen Odell together with Ford’s Executive Vice President for global manufacturing John Fleming attended the event.
Ford said that 80 percent of the site’s production will be destined to export markets, with one of the important products to come to the world via the plant being a three-cylinder Ecoboost engine. The downsized unit will use direct gasoline injection and turbocharging to deliver 90 hp, while offering a 20 percent efficiency increase compared to similarly-powered conventional engines.
Fleming told reporters that the company’s new B segment model will enter production at Craiova next year, adding that this will have an annual output of 150,000 units. Various media reports indicate that the model will be based on the Fiesta and will be called B-Max.
Starting from 2012, the plant will also produce a replacement for the Transit Connect, but the company’s officials refused to offer details about the light commercial vehicle.
The automotive producer has already negotiated contracts with certain suppliers (for the next Ford Transit Connect), with the company currently seeking to establish new providers in the country for other projects.
The Craiova plant, formerly owned by Daewoo, will also create 3,500 jobs by 2012, with the site set to include a workforce of 7,000 people by the end of 2012. By 2013, the plant’s output capacity will reach 300,000 units, with an engine production capacity of 350,000. However, Fleming said that the company will not necessarily use the full capacity.
The Ford executives also met with the Romanian authorities in order to postpone the Craiova contract’s schedule, with the negotiations reaching a favorable solution for the company.
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