Category: Ford

Tracinda Corporation has announced it will acquire 20 million common shares of Ford’s stock.

Tracinda owned by Kirk Kerkorian (pictured) will offer $8.50 per share which represents a 13.3 per cent premium over Ford’s closing stock price of $7.50 on April 25. Ford released a statement made by Alan Mulally: “We welcome confidence in Ford and the progress we are making on our transformation plan.  Any investor can purchase Ford shares, which are sold on the open market.  The Ford team remains focused on executing our plan to transform Ford into a lean global enterprise delivering profitable growth for all.”

Tracinda and Kirk Kerkorian has taken a stake in GM in the past and obliged GM CEO to meet Carlos Ghosn for a potential partnership that never happened.

Ford announced today it has built its 9 millionth Mustang, a GT Convertible Mustang which will be delivered to a dealership in Iowa.

The Mustang is the carmaker’s longest-running nameplate. Mustang was introduced on April 17, 1964, at the New York World’s Fair. The current generation has recorded a huge success representing one of every two sports cars sold in the US. Mustang sales hit an astounding 419,000 in its first 12 months on the market, and topped the 1-million mark in the first two years, shattering the sales records of any single model in the history of the cars.

The Ford Mustang will likely keep the lead despite the launch of the Dodge Challenger and the arrival next year of the Chevrolet Camaro. The next generation is expected to be unveiled in 2011. It will be based on the new global rear-wheel drive platform currently in development in Australia.

Ford has announced that it will hire 1,500 people at its Russian factory to increase its production Bentley 75 per cent to reach 125,000 vehicles.

Located outside of St. Petersburg, the factory produces the Ford Focus hatchback, the best-selling foreign-brand car in Russia. The new production capacity will be used to build the Ford Mondeo.

Ford was the first foreign carmaker to open its own assembly plant in Russia, which began production in July 2002. It is the only Ford plant that builds the Focus in all four body styles: 3-door, 4-door, 5-door and wagon versions. The plant employs 2,700 workers.

In 2007, Ford of Europe sold 1.92 million vehicles, a 72,000 unit increase over the previous year.

Ford Motor Company released its 2007 Annual Report  which reveals valuable information at a time when the carmaker is losing money in the US. Ford Mulally earned £10.9/$21,6 million 2007.

After a massive loss of $12.5 Billion in 2006, the company recorded a news $2.7 Billion loss last year. Part of the plan to restructure the group is the deal sign with the union enabling the carmaker to recruit new employees at a lower price. But Alan Mulally doesn’t seem to be concerned by the new deal as his total compensation for last year reach £10,9 million.

Alan Mulally, Ford president and CEO, earned £1 million in salary and received incentive bonus awards of £3.5 million. In 2006, Ford had given £20 million to the CEO to convince him to quit Boeing for Ford.

Auto Bild has released a sketch of a concept car which will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the famous Capri coupé launched in 1969.

According to company sources, Ford has planned to unveil a modern reinterpretation of the Capri model to celebrate its 40th anniversary. The concept car will preview a future coupé expected to hit the showrooms by 2012. The rumoured model would be a 2+2 weighing about 1,500kg. It would be available with a large engine range including four, five and six cylinder petrol units. Power outputs would range between 140 and 250bhp. Details remain scarce and it is unknown whether that car will feature a RWD platform or not.

Ford wants the future model to compete with the new Scirocco and the entry-level is expected to start at £15,000.

Source: carspyshots.net

Ford is starting to work on a new rear-wheel drive platform due to be featured on the next-generation Mustang and several saloons.

Company’s executives have given the green light to the new platform which will underspin several models such as the next-generation Mustang and the Australian Ford Falcon. The future platform will be for Ford what the Zeta platform is for GM, a global platform designed to cut costs.

Initially being developed in Australia the program has been transferred to the US due to the weak dollar.

Ford CEO Allan Mullally has announced at a conference that Ford will use the Jaguar and Land Rover money to fund new models instead of paying off some debts as initially thought.

Ford has set the ambitious plan to rejunevate 70% of its lineup over the next years and plans to use the money raised by the Jaguar and Land Rover bid. The money will also be used to increase its development process. “The proceeds will be invested on our quality and productivity and new product development, ” said Mullally.

The company also plans to improve its manufacturing process and reduce its current lineup to cut costs. The carmaker plans to launch the same model on several continents. After the new Fiesta expected to be sold in Europe, in the US and in China, Ford has decided to sell the next-generation Mondeo exactly under the same design in Europe and in the US. The expected savings of doing the same car should be around £150 million to £225 million in costs.

Ford will invest £250 million in India over the next two years to boost its production capacity of small cars from 100,000 today to 250,000 by 2010.

"We have lined up $500 million for our expansion plans in India. By 2010, we will ramp up our installed capacity to 250,000 units per annum from 100,000 units currently for rolling out compact cars, new versions of engines and critical components for domestic and overseas consumption," Ford India vice-president Scott McCormack told newspapers.

The £250 million will be added to the £400 million already invested over the last ten years at the Maraimala factory, located near Chennai, which builds the Ford Ikon, Fusion, Fiesta and Endeavour models. The investment will also be used for the future small car the carmaker plans to launch on the Indian market in 2010.  "We are working on the small car programme and will be launching it in 2010", said Scott McCormack, Vice-President, Marketing, Sales and Service. With small and compact cars accounting for over 70-80 percent of total passengers vehicles in the Indian auto market, Ford India wants to focus on volume production to increase its market share.

In 2007 Ford sales suffered from higher interest rates and a competitive market. The carmaker sold 38,000 vehicles compared to 36,000 in 2006. However, Ford sees 2008 as a better year thanks to the Endeavour and the new Fusion Plus.

According to company sources, Lincoln is currently working on bringing to production the MKT Concept unveiled at the last Detroit Auto Show.

No green light has been given yet, but Ford engineers have already started to work on the design of the final model codenamed D472. Ford executives will take a decision after showing a prototype to a consumer panel.

The MKT Concept shared its underpinnings with the Ford Flex crossover, but featured unique exterior and interior styling. With most of the engineering work being done, design is the last stage to be completed.

The carmaker offers another crossover in its range, the MKX model.

Pictures of the long-awaited Ford Focus RS have emerged on the Internet. None have been confirmed by a carmaker’s announcement at the Geneva Motor Show.

There is some doubt whether those pictures are official or not. However, they seem to be realistic enough to be taken seriously. With the RS, Ford will go wild and the future owners won’t have to be ashamed when compared to the Japanese clique, Mitsubishi Lancer and Subaru Impreza, a least at a glance. Indeed, the Focus RS will only come with a two-wheel drive transmission.

Without a four-wheel drive system, the 2.5-litres five cylinder petrol engine will have trouble to send its 280bhp and its 295lb ft to the front wheels. Ford engineers added an electronic differential to master the power, but history has proved this kind of technical solution never really worked.

The car is expected to be launched at the next British Motor Show.