What a great way to kick off Labor Day weekend for Ford. They get to celebrate their 3050 millionth vehicle. That is an astronomical number of Fords and only took 109 years, which if you do the math end up being quite a few cars getting out there per year. The lucky car is the 2013 Ford Focus that rolled off the production line at Ford’s newest plant, Rayong in Thailand. This plant is $450 million dollars worth of production equipment and buildings that opened just this past May so that Ford could further their worldwide reach.
“Producing 350 million vehicles is equivalent to producing one vehicle every 10 seconds for our 109-year history. If placed end to end, the vehicles would stretch to the moon and back – twice,” said John Fleming, Ford executive vice president of global manufacturing. “Producing this vehicle in Thailand also is significant. It underscores the power of our One Ford plan to deliver profitable growth with great products built in ultra-flexible and efficient facilities everywhere around the world. Today, in the spirit of Henry Ford’s innovative drive, the One Ford plan is transforming modern-day Ford to compete everywhere in the world with a full family of global vehicles that offer leading quality, fuel efficiency, safety, smart design and value.”
Jim Farley, Ford’s Group Vice President for Global Marketing, Sales and Service adds, “Embracing its performance, value, versatility and fuel economy, the Focus is attracting many new customers to the Ford brand for the very first time, particularly in Asia where we are growing every day. The Focus is a winner on so many levels because it successfully provides customers with what they want most – a safe, smart, fuel-efficient, good-looking, fun-to-drive, affordable car.”
Congratulations to Ford for meeting such a significant milestone. And, also to the Ford Focus, which according to IHS Automotive sold 489,616 units in the first half of this year in the worldwide market. The nearest competitor, Toyota Corolla, sold 462,187.
Source Ford