What I know about Ford finally made public

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Ford invests more in China

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...257918001ADBF1

Importance of Asia-Pacific underscored by Ford’s latest Chinese investment

27 September 2011

By MARTON PETTENDY

FORD has underlined the importance of the Asia Pacific region to its global expansion plans by breaking ground on a new transmission plant in China this week, just days after General Motors signed a deal to co-develop an electric car with its Chinese joint-venture partner.

While GM, China’s biggest foreign car-maker, is the latest manufacturer to jump-start EV development in the world’s largest motor market, Ford’s Chinese plans are no less ambitious, with CEO Alan Mulally announcing the Blue Oval’s first transmission factory in China would supply 15 new models to be launched there by 2015.

Mr Mulally was joined by Ford Asia Pacific and Africa (APA) president Joe Hinrichs and Ford China CEO and chairman of the decade-old Changan Ford Mazda Automotive (CFMA) joint-venture Xu Liu Ping to open the $US350 million gearbox plant in Chongqing.

The new factory is claimed to bring Ford’s total joint-venture investment in China to $US3.5 billion and Ford’s total investment in Asia Pacific and Africa to $US5 billion.

“China and Asia are incredible engines of growth,” said Mr Mulally, who is visiting China and Thailand this week to review Ford’s aggressive expansion in the Asia Pacific and Africa region, and to participate in Chongqing mayor Huang Qifan’s annual international advisory committee meeting.

“This new transmission plant, our first in China, will help power the launch of 15 new vehicles in China by 2015,” said Mr Hinrichs.

“As part of our aggressive growth, we’re shifting into high gear. With the seven new plants we’re building in Asia Pacific and Africa, including four in China, Ford’s capacity in APA will be 2.3 million units by mid-decade.”

Since Ford and Changan Motors broke ground for their joint-venture 10 years ago in the central-China municipality, CFMA – which also has assembly plants in Chongqing and Nanjing, and an engine plant in Nanjing – has built and sold more than 1.3 million Ford brand vehicles, including Focus, Fiesta, Mondeo and S-Max.

Ford is currently building a new $US490 million assembly plant in Chongqing, which will produce the new Focus for China from 2012, plus a $US500 million engine plant in Chongqing.

Along with its commercial vehicle partner Jiangling Motors Corporation, which is 30 per cent Ford-owned, the company is also building an additional $US300 million assembly plant in Nanchang, where Ford and JMC-branded vehicles are already produced.

Ford and Mazda also jointly produce the new Australian-designed Ranger and BT-50 utility in Thailand, where Ford is building a fourth Focus factory to supply Asia Pacific markets including Australia from 2012.

Ford says it will bring more than 50 new vehicles and powertrains to the Asia Pacific region by mid-decade, including 15 new vehicles for China, as part of its plan to increase its global sales from 5.3 million in 2010 to eight million by 2015. Up to 70 per cent of that growth is expected to come from the Asia Pacific region.

[Nikked]

Australia often comes under "asia", i can still see some form of assembly in australia, but, a lot of sub-assembly done in asia.

With the Lincoln brand being focused on as being a true Luxury brand and using shared platforms, i can still see Australia being involved in development of a large RWD platform.

So, post 2016 i am hopeful we will see a RWD Falcon, but how much local content will be included is debatable.

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Originally Posted by Nikked

Australia often comes under "asia"

Well the old Ford Australia is now Ford Asia Pacific South Africa. It has been for a few years now.

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http://www.autoblog.com/2011/09/28/l...erfall-grille/

Lincoln waving goodbye to the waterfall grille
By Dan Roth RSS feed
Sep 28th 2011 11:30AM

Lincoln is moving away from its current grille design, a source tells AutoWeek. Using diplomatic terms, the source says the new design will be less pronounced, which will hopefully translate to "a less disfiguring overbite" in the metal. The MKR-inspired waterfall grille has been applied across the entire line of Lincoln vehicles with varying degrees of success. What works on an MKS makes an MKT resemble a baleen whale.

There's a pile of cash being thrown at Lincoln right now, and with good reason – the brand sorely needs to differentiate itself from the lineup of parent company Ford if it has any hope of competing in the wider luxury marketplace. The new grille design may show up at the Los Angeles Auto Show on refreshed MKS and MKT models, which are expected to ride atop revised suspensions, redone brakes and updated steering.

News Source: AutoWeek

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http://www.caradvice.com.au/144775/f...-paint-sludge/

Ford Australia teams with Geocycle to recycle paint sludge
By Tim Beissmann | November 8th, 2011

Ford Australia is making its vehicle production process more environmentally friendly by recycling its waste paint sludge.

The paint sludge from Ford’s Broadmeadows plant is being used by Dandenong-based waste specialist Geocycle, which uses the sludge as an alternative source of fuel in its cement making process.

Geocycle has recycled around 10 tonnes of paint sludge each month since the program commenced in August.

Paint sludge is a by-product of the vehicle paining process at the Broadmeadows assembly plant. Before the Geocycle partnership was formed, Ford sent all the sludge offsite for processing and disposal in landfill.

Ford Australia says it will halve the amount of sludge it sends to landfill when the recycling program is fully implemented. Australia’s second-largest vehicle manufacturer currently recycles 56 per cent of the solid waste produced at its Broadmeadows facility.

Ford Australia president and CEO Bob Graziano explained the Geocycle program was another environmental initiative by Ford, following last year’s $20 million upgrade of the Geelong Iron Casting Plant to make it more efficient.

“Ford around the world is committed to initiatives aimed at providing a better environment for consumers,” Mr Graziano said.

“Ford Australia is part of that process and we continue to seek out solutions with companies like Geocycle to minimise our impact on the environment.”