Ford Australia to build Focus at Broadmeadows

Ford Australia has announced a bold $300 million plan to build the Ford Focus in Australia. The company today outlined the move to produce 40,000 examples of the Focus annually from 2011.

Contrary to several media reports, the car will not be produced from fully-imported CKD (completely knocked-down) parts kits, but made from a significant amount of locally produced components.

The engines will still be imported, as will some other major mechanical components, but the panels will be stamped at Ford’s Geelong plant.

Ford Australia said it would begin discussions with local component suppliers from today in an attempt to have other parts for the Focus produced locally, especially bulkier items that would cost a lot to freight - including items like fuel tanks, plastic bumpers and seats.

It estimates 300 extra jobs will be created at its Campbellfield and Geelong factories - half the number of jobs that will be lost when the company closes its six-cylinder engine plant in Geelong.

Until now, Australian Focus models have been produced in South Africa.

Ford Australia won the project to produce the next-generation Focus for the Asia-Pacific region, which means South Africa will cease building the model and will begin importing Australian-made Focus models.

Along with New Zealand, South Africa is expected to take around 15,000 Australian-made Ford Focus models a year.

The new Focus will be assembled at Ford Australia’s Campbellfield plant on the same line as the Falcon and Territory.

Ford Australia president Tom Gorman said the local Focus plan would give the company strength in the booming small-car segment.

“This combination of a fantastic small car that is designed and engineered in Europe, but built right here in Australia will provide us with a unique position in the marketplace,” he said.

The Focus will not only be offered with a petrol engine, but also an economical diesel powerplant which, in the current car, uses just 5.6 litres per 100km of combined driving.

Mr Gorman said being able to offer a diesel Focus would give Ford Australia a significant advantage.

“Focus will now represent the most fuel efficient and most environmentally friendly vehicle produced in Australia,” he said.

Mr Gorman said producing the Focus in Australia would allow the company to lift its hourly production rate from 52 cars an hour to the 75 cars an hour it was building at its recent peak in 2004.

If the Focus meets its target it would mean the full utilization of the plant and a yearly Ford Australia production total of around 120,000 cars, although Mr Gorman said there was a chance to slightly increase that number without going to a third shift.

Both Focus sedan and hatch will be built at Campbellfield. Ford has also hinted at some smaller-volume Focus variants that could be produced, but does not want to talk specifics.

The last small car to be produced in Australia was the Corolla, which Toyota stopped producing at its Altona plant in 1999.

Mr Gorman said that since then a numbers of factors had changed which meant producing small cars locally was now more viable.

“First the increased demand for small vehicles that we have seen in Australia means that there is much more opportunity for domestic sales in this segment than there were just 10 years ago,” Mr Gorman said.

“Second, domestic production will allow us to better control the vehicles we build and features they include when our dealers and the market demand them.

"We will be a lot more competitive and we will no longer be capacity constrained in the largest segment when we can control what we build and when we build it,” he said.

Mr Gorman said being able to export the car was an important part of the plan.

“Our ability to access export markets will allow us spread our costs over a much higher volume base than we could have imagined just a few years ago,” he said.

Ford Australia will only build Focus models in right-hand-drive, but Mr Gorman said that didn’t prevent future opportunity to other markets.

“Surprisingly it is only small and low investment change to be left-hand-drive capable,” he said.

“In theory we are left-hand-drive capable and we will see which markets present themselves going forward.” Australian Industry minister Ian Macfarlane said the Ford decision to build a small car was an important one.

“This is a significant repositioning of the Australian car industry by Ford Australia.

“Consumer sentiment has shifted away from the traditional rear-drive medium to large vehicle to a vehicle that makes less environmental footprint, costs less to run, but is chock-a-block with technology,” he said “Each manufacturer in Australia will have their own ways of meeting customer change, but it is important in Australia that we acknowledge those people who have the courage to do it first,” said Mr Macfarlane.