Ford’s Asian Production On-Pace to Beat North American
The financial climate across much of Asia is like a snapshot of what America was a century ago. Urbanization and the development of new highways are allowing people in countries like China to thrive like never before, and a booming middle class is beginning to emerge. The automotive industry sees this as a promising opportunity to capitalize a new segment of car-buyers that didn’t exist a few years ago, and that is exactly what Ford is doing.
For the first time ever, the amount of vehicles the Detroit automaker assembles in Asian is more than those in Europe, and Ford’s Asian production is on-pace to beat its North American production by 2015.
“It’s so aspirational and such a big deal,” Joe Hinrichs, who led Ford’s manufacturing and Asia operations before taking over the Americas late last year, said in an interview with Bloomberg. “It’s the freedom that comes from the ability to own your own transportation that’s never been had in your family. That’s what it was like 100 years ago here.”
With Ford’s Chinese operations valued at $15 billion (more than a fifth of its stock-market value), will Asia become the Detroit automaker’s primary market in the coming years?
Brought to you by Town & Country Ford in Nashville, TN.
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