Ford Motor Company confirmed, on Friday 16th June, 2006, an intent to invest in and strengthen its 81-year-old manufacturing presence in Mexico as part of the company’s North American Way Forward plan.

The plan includes upgrades of Ford of Mexico’s two existing assembly plants – located in the cities of Cuautitlan and Hermosillo – and its engine plant in Chihuahua. Details of the upgrades will be announced during the next several years, as the improvements take place.

“Ford has been doing business in Mexico since 1925, and we were the first automaker ever in the country. We are proud of our manufacturing capability in Mexico today, and we plan to upgrade our facilities for the future, just as we have been modernising many of our facilities in the U.S. and Canada,” explains Mark Fields, Ford’s President of the Americas.

The investment announced on Friday does not include Ford’s plan to build a new low-cost manufacturing facility in North America. The intention to build such a facility was announced in January as part of the company’s Way Forward plan.

“We remain committed to a new low-cost manufacturing facility. But we have made no decisions on where it will be located,” Fields explains. “The key to success will be high quality and low cost, and that certainly can be in the U.S., Canada or Mexico.”

Ford inaugurated its first plant in Mexico City to build the Model T.

Today, Ford builds the F-Series pickup and Ikon small car in Cuautitlan. Engines for several vehicles sold globally are made in Chihuahua. The Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr are built in Hermosillo for consumption across North America.

“For more than eight decades, we have worked hand-in-hand with Mexico, its people and its government,” says Louise Goeser, Ford of Mexico President and CEO. “Mexico remains an excellent business environment for Ford, and it will remain a key manufacturing location for our global automotive operations as a result of these investments.”

North America's 2006 Ford Fusion