Ford Announced $2.3 billion Investment in Brazil

Ford Motor Co is planning to invest $2.26 billion in Brazil, in order to increase production, as the demand for new cars in this country is getting higher due to very low borrowing costs, said by Mark Fields, the company's president for the Americas.

Ford already has two factories in Ceara and Bahia states in northeastern Brazil. According to Marcos de Oliveira, CEO for Brazil and the Mercosur region, most of the money will go to these two factories. The automaker hopes to increase production from 250,000 now to 300,000 vehicles every year, as well as to create 1,000 jobs.

This investment plan has been presented in a ceremony with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. During the ceremony, it was announced that Brazil's government will extend state and federal tax breaks to Ford.

Brazil is a very important market for many auto manufacturers like Fiat, Volkswagen, General Motors and Ford, while both French and Asian automakers are hoping that sales here will offset the decrease in sales from Europe or the United States. The increase in car sales in this country, which is expected to hit a new record this year, was helped by government tax incentives that helped lower car prices and lure consumers to showrooms, reported autonews.com.

The Ford Motor Company is an American multinational corporation based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. At this moment, Ford is the fourth-largest automaker by sales in Brazil and the second in the United States.