Local production for next generation Focus

Ford Australia will add the third-generation Focus small car to its local production line-up. It's official... The news came this morning in a major announcement by Ford Australia boss, Tom Gorman, at the carmaker's Campbellfield production facility.

Heralded as a "significant repositioning of the Australian car industry" by Federal MP Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources Ian Macfarlane, the small car production announcement was attended by industry heavyweights, Victorian Premier Steve Bracks and host of local politicians.

Gorman told the assembled mainstream and motoring media, that Ford would add the front-wheel drive Focus to its Campbellfield production line in 2011. It will be built alongside Falcon and Territory.

Gorman revealed that Australia 'won' the program to build the car ahead of Ford's facility in South Africa, where the current Focus is built. He said around 40,000 right-hand drive Focus hatches and sedans would be built at the factory in Melbourne's north each year with 15,000 (approx) expected to be exported to South Africa and New Zealand.

The new Focus would add around 300 jobs at the facility, he said.

Gorman called the move "very exciting and very positive relative to Ford's future in Australia" and following the confirmation of the planned 2010 closure its Geelong (Vic) engine plant (more here) said Focus production "would finally close the loop in revealing our [Ford Australia's] long term product manufacturing strategy."

According to Gorman the "dramatic shift" in the buying habits of Australian car consumers over the last few years had changed the landscaping allowing Ford to viably produce a small car in the face of industry 'wisdom' to the contrary.

Local production, he said, would give Ford a significant advantage in the burgeoning small car marketplace. It would also improve the company's ability "to ensure that Australian-specific customer demands are considered more openly as part of the overall design and development process."

Design and engineering of the still unseen all-new third-generation Focus will be carried out in Europe. That said, local production would be "fully integrated" and discussions would commence immediately with local suppliers, he said.

As is the case with the just-announced Duratec V6 engines for the Falcon and Territory circa 2010, engines and gearboxes for the new Focus will be sourced overseas. Gorman would not comment specifically on the percentage of local content of the new small car, to be built in both diesel and petrol engined variants. He said, however, that the new models would also be good news for Ford's Geelong pressing plant.

Of the total program cost of $300m, around $180m would be spent at Ford's local facilities. Victorian Premier Steve Bracks said the program had the potential to provide up to 1000 additional jobs upstream in the supplier and infrastructure arenas.

The announcement puts to bed speculation that Ford would 'fast track' local CKD assembly of the current generation car (more here) but equally makes it unlikely that the carmaker will add the so-called 'T6' global LCV to its production 'menu' Down Under.

"Some people thought we were going to announce that we were going to build the truck here. What it [the addition of Focus] does do clearly is it fills our [production] capacity as we can see it. There's no immediate plan to build the truck here," Gorman said.

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