Ford investing $300 mln to make new commercial vehicle in Romania

This will be Ford's first full electric vehicle built in Romania, the car maker said in a press release.

"Our plan to build this new light commercial vehicle in Romania reflects our fruitful and ongoing partnerships with local suppliers and the community, as well as the success of the entire Ford Craiova team," Ford Europe president Stuart Rowley said.

"By introducing a fully electric version in 2024, Craiova will become our third factory in Europe where fully electric vehicles are produced. The investment in Craiova comes in the context of the other investments already announced for the Ford Electrified Vehicle Center in Cologne (Germany) and for the Kocaeli plant of Ford Otosan in Turkey and sends a clear signal about our promise to offer European customers commercial vehicles with zero emissions."

The new light commercial vehicle which is to be produced in 2023 will be equipped with some of Ford's most advanced conventional petrol as well as diesel engines produced at the Ford Dagenham engine plant in the UK. The transmissions will be built at Ford Halewood Transmissions Limited, also in the UK.

The exact production start date of the new vehicle, as well as additional details are to be disclosed close to launch, Ford added.

Rowley added that the new investment demonstrates the company's hope that the Romanian government will provide all the key improvements promised to support a competitive production environment in the region, including transportation infrastructure.

In February, Ford pledged to have its full range of commercial vehicles in Europe zero-emissions capable, all-electric or plug-in hybrid, by 2024. Two-thirds of Ford's commercial vehicle sales are expected to be represented by all-electric or plug-in hybrid models by 2030.

Ford entered Romania in March 2008 when it completed the acquisition of a 72.4% stake in Automobile Craiova, the sole owner of car maker and distributor Daewoo Automobile Romania. Since then, Ford has invested over 2 billion euro in its Craiova site. The auto manufacturer currently rolls out the Puma and EcoSport models as well as the EcoBoost 1.0 l engine in Romania, employing over 6,000 people.

In July 2020, Ford announced that is investing $30 million in a new pressing line at its Craiova plant, in order to produce a wider range of components which are being brought from other Ford factories in Europe at present.

($ = 0.8265 euro)