The investment, announced by Alan Mulally, president and chief executive office of the company, is the largest single amount Ford has injected in its Brazilian operations for a five-year period in its 90-year history in the country. The initiative brings the company’s total investment in South America to $3 billion through 2015.
The funds will be used to develop a new vehicle, destined for global markets. Called Ford EcoSport, this will be a compact SUV and will be developed in the Engineering Center of Camacari, situated in the northeast of the country. The vehicle will be domestically produced for both Brazilian and export markets. As a premiere for Ford, the Brazilian-engineered car will also be produced in other countries.
The EcoSport will be underpinned by a small vehicle platform, engineered in Europe. The platform will serve as a base for up to 1.6 million global vehicles annually by 2014. This will include up to five separate vehicle lines.
“Developing truly global vehicles and platforms is a key part of our ONE Ford plan,” Mulally said. “Ford Brazil already has demonstrated its skill in creating great vehicles, and with such a strong team in place at our engineering center in Camacari, we’re pleased that customers around the world will benefit from that."
“Ultimately, our goal is to offer customers in every part of the world a full family of exciting Ford vehicles – small, medium and large cars; utilities and trucks – with best-in-class safety, quality, fuel efficiency, smart design and value,” he added.
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