Photo: Ford
Ford's European sales are still nowhere near where they need to be, and as such the automaker is dealing with a lot of overcapacity. However, that hasn't stopped them from expanding their production capabilities in the lucrative Russian market.
The Ford Sollers joint venture today launched the start of full production of the Ford Explorer, marking the first time an SUV of this caliber has been locally produced outside the US. The Russia-built Ford Explorers are being assembled at a factory in the Republic of Tatarstan for the Russian market.
The move came as a result of increased demand, as 33 percent more Explorers were sold in Russia during March alone.
“Russia is on its way to being the largest market in Europe and presents an enormous opportunity for growth,” said Ted Cannis, president and CEO of Ford Sollers. “We anticipate SUV sales to continue to grow as Russian customers prefer the image and performance these utility vehicles provide in severe weather and challenging road conditions.”
Ford has promised the Russian-built Explorers will offer the same level of build quality as the one coming from the United States.
“With our partner Sollers, we were able to take the best practices from Chicago Assembly Plant as well as our other SUV plants around the world, and combine them with our latest advances in the Ford Production System to ensure we achieved world-class quality and significantly reduced lead times of one to two years,” said John Fleming, executive vice president, Global Manufacturing and Labor Affairs.
The move came as a result of increased demand, as 33 percent more Explorers were sold in Russia during March alone.
“Russia is on its way to being the largest market in Europe and presents an enormous opportunity for growth,” said Ted Cannis, president and CEO of Ford Sollers. “We anticipate SUV sales to continue to grow as Russian customers prefer the image and performance these utility vehicles provide in severe weather and challenging road conditions.”
Ford has promised the Russian-built Explorers will offer the same level of build quality as the one coming from the United States.
“With our partner Sollers, we were able to take the best practices from Chicago Assembly Plant as well as our other SUV plants around the world, and combine them with our latest advances in the Ford Production System to ensure we achieved world-class quality and significantly reduced lead times of one to two years,” said John Fleming, executive vice president, Global Manufacturing and Labor Affairs.
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