Michigan Assembly Plant

The Ford Motor Company is in the midst of a seismic shift in the way that they do business. In 2008, as gas prices surged toward $4/gallon and beyond, the automaker announced its new commitment to bring as many as six European models to the North American market by the end of 2012.

Converting Trucks Plants To Compact Car Plants

To bring about that effort, Ford has been retooling plants in the US and Mexico, most recently transforming its Michigan Assembly Plant from one that once made pickup trucks to a plant supporting small car architecture.

Ford’s investment in the Wayne, MI plant will total $550 million and preserve as  many as 3200 jobs. State and local tax grants and incentives are also paving the way for the transformation of the plant which once built beefy Lincoln Navigator and Ford Expedition sport/utility vehicles to an assembly line tasked with building the next generation Ford Focus. The Focus model will also include an all-electric model, a car powered only by a lithium-ion battery pack.

Three Truck Plants Being Converted

Ford says that three of its North American assembly plants that once produced trucks will now build its small cars (Cuautitlan Assembly in Mexico and Louisville Assembly in Kentucky are the other two).

The automaker is banking on consumer demand for these types of vehicles despite fuel prices currently hovering around the $2/gallon mark. Most analysts believe that gas prices will eventually rise, perhaps topping $4/gallon by the time the new Focus is ready.

The Ford Focus Battery Electric Vehicle

Ford had promised to roll out a pure electric vehicle for the passenger market after first announcing that its Transit Connect all purpose vehicle would introduce the technology beginning in 2010. The Focus BEV (battery electric vehicle) is designed to be plugged into any 110-volt home outlet, with many customers likely to work with their power companies to get a 220-volt connection via their garage. In addition, numerous cities and private businesses are working on establishing a grid system in their areas to support recharging away from home.

Besides the Transit Connect and the Focus BEV, Ford’s next generation hybrid vehicle is to arrive in 2012 and be joined by a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV). Ford believes that its gamble to transform itself from a builder of primarily large trucks and sport/utility vehicles to a maker of compact, efficient cars will pay off, part of its own effort to remake its image in the domestic market to match pretty much what it sells on a global level, particularly from mid-size vehicles on down in size.

Source: Ford Motor Company

See Also — First Drive: Ford Escape PHEV