April 3 (SeeNews) - Ford Motor Company said on Wednesday it will start production of the Puma model at its assembly plant in Craiova, Romania in the second half of the year.
"Puma will go on sale at the end of the year, and will be produced with exceptional craftsmanship and quality [...] following nearly 1.5 billion euro ($1.7 billion) investment since 2008," Ford said in a statement.
You can download the 2023 Automotive industry in Southeast Europe report here
Ford Puma is an SUV-inspired compact crossover that features a 48-volt mild-hybrid powertrain technology.
Ford Romania announced in May last year that is investing up to 200 million euro ($235 million) and adding 1,500 jobs to manufacture a second type of vehicle at the Craiova plant, in southern Romania. The new vehicle is in addition to the EcoSport small SUV currently built in Craiova, plus Ford’s 1.0‑litre EcoBoost engine. The company started EcoSport SUV production at Craiova following a 200 million euro investment in October 2017.
In October, Ford inaugurated its first European Resource and Commitment Center in Craiova following a $1.1 million (960,000 euro) investment made over four years.
Ford entered Romania in March 2008 when it wrapped up the acquisition of a 72.4% stake in Automobile Craiova, the sole owner of car maker and distributor Daewoo Automobile Romania.
($=0.8926 euro)
Ford Romania SA is among the biggest companies in SEE. You can download our SEE Top 100 ranking
here or subscribe to our free Top 100 newsletter
here