Ford Will Import Focus From China

(UPDATED) DEARBORN, MI — The Ford Motor Company will build newer versions of its Focus compact car in China in 2019, the Dearborn automaker announced Tuesday. The vehicle is currently built at its Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne. The Dearborn automaker previously said the Focus would be built in Mexico.

“Finding a more cost-effective way to deliver the next Focus program in North America is a better plan, allowing us to redeploy the money we save into areas of growth for the company – especially sport utilities, commercial vehicles, performance vehicles as well as mobility, autonomous vehicles and electrified vehicles,” Joe Hinrichs, Ford executive vice president and president of global operations, said in a statement.

The suburban Detroit assembly plant will not lose any jobs as a result of the move, Ford said. The Detroit Free Press reported that after the Focus leaves in mid-2018, the Michigan Avenue plant will be converted to produce the Ranger pickup truck. In 2020, Ford will also relaunch the Bronco midsize SUV, which will also be built in Wayne. (For more local news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Dearborn Patch, click here to find your local Michigan Patch. Also, follow us on Facebook, and if you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Ford said it will continue making the current Focus at Michigan Assembly Plant through mid-2018. After that, the plant will be converted to produce the Ranger midsize pickup truck in late 2018 and the Bronco midsize SUV in 2020.

The Detroit News reported that Ford Motor Company will not be the first automaker to use China for manufacturing. GM and Volvo Cars are both building with Chinese labor and importing back to North America.

Production of the Focus won’t be limited to China. Ford said additional “variants” would come from Europe in the future.

President Donald Trump criticized Ford while on the campaign trail for its plans to shift Focus production to Mexico and then praised the Dearborn automaker after it decided to nix the plans. A quick scan of the president’s Twitter account Tuesday morning didn’t reveal any further comment on Ford’s new plans.

Ford has made a number of changes in recent weeks. Last month, the company fired CEO Mark Fields and replaced him with former University of Michigan athletic director Jim Hackett. The new CEO said he plans to move Ford forward by looking strategically to four areas:

• Evaluate additional revenue opportunities
• The company’s overall fitness
• It’s capital deployment
• Move to unleash top Ford leaders to innovate

Photo by Ralph Orlowski / Staff / Getty Images News / Getty Images