Ford Gears Up for New Focus Production

American manufacturer Ford announced today it will begin a series of measures in the US and Europe which are meant to insure a clean, smooth market entrance for the new Focus. Those measures include offering permanent contracts to the 500 people employed on agency contracts at the Saarlouis plant in Germany and getting the one in St. Petersburg, Russia ready for production.

Ford will be assembling the new Focus at the Michigan Assembly Plant in the US and at the aforementioned Saarlouis plant in Germany. From the middle of next year, the site in Russia will also join the production process for the model which will be sold around the world.

For the Asia Pacific region, the Ford facilities have some more time to prepare. Production of the Focus at the Chongqing plant in China will not begin until the beginning of 2012, roughly about the same time the rest of the world will receive the electric version of the Focus.

The new Ford Focus, which will start at $16,270 for the entry-level S Sedan, will be available in SE and Titanium trim levels, complete with handling packages.

The star of the engine lineup for the new model is the 2.0l DOHC I-4, which has an output of 160 horsepower and 198 Nm of torque. The fuel economy of the unit is estimated at 40 mpg (5.88 l/100km) highway (when using an automatic transmission).

The new Ford Focus has been recently selected as the official car of the Consumer Electronics Show. The choice was made because the car is packed with technology: Ford SYNC, MyFord Touch driver connect, Intelligent Access with Push Button Start, Sony Audio with HD Radio (the first car in its class available with a Sony system) and Active Park Assist.