Last week I reported that Ford Australia will replace its inline-6 engine with the Ford Duratec V6 engine. Ford announced yesterday that its Australian division will produce the European Ford Focus in 2011. Production of the Focus will be entrusted to Ford’s Campbellfield plant, which already produces the current Falcon saloon and Territory SUV models.
The Ford Focus has been sold in Australia since 2002. The current second generation is built in South Africa and then exported to Australia and New Zealand. Its production on the Australian continent will probably decrease the effects of currency exchange rates. It is also the first step towards Ford’s commitment to offer job opportunities within the Ford Group to all employees of Geelong factory, which will close in 2010. The Ford Focus move will create 300 new jobs.
The Campbellfield factory will build 40,000 cars every year, of which 15,000 will be exported to South Africa.
With this shift in its current product range, Ford tries to meet the demand for small cars, which has exploded over the past ten years. Small cars accounted for 21.7 per cent of all new cars sold in Australia last year, up from 15.4 per cent in 1998.
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