Ford to invest millions in Michigan green car production

Ford has announced it is investing $135 million to bring battery pack and hybrid vehicle transmission production to Michigan, creating new jobs at three facilities.  The new jobs will form part of FordÔÇÖs strategy to introduce two electric vehicles and three new hybrids to the market by 2012. Such models are predicted to constitute 10 to 25 percent of its global range within the next decade. The vehicles to be launched are the Transit Connect Electric light commercial van for later this year in the US and for 2011 in Europe; the Focus Electric compact car in North America in 2011 and in Europe in 2012; the Lincoln MKZ hybrid luxury sedan, for this fall in North America; a next-generation hybrid electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle in 2012; and a C-MAX hybrid electric and plug-in hybrid electric for Europe in 2013. Ford currently offers four hybrid modelsÔÇöthe Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan mid-size cars and the Ford Edge and Mercury Mariner mid-size sport utility vehicles. The Ypsilanti factory will receive $10 million of investment to build battery packsÔÇöcurrently assembled in MexicoÔÇöcreating about 40 new jobs. The Sterling Heights transmission factory will receive $125 million investment, creating 130 new jobs to build the continuously variable hybrid transmissions that are currently built in Japan. Fifty new jobs will also be created for electric vehicle engineers in Dearborn. Commenting on the news, Mark Fields, FordÔÇÖs president of The Americas, said: ÔÇ£Electrified vehicles are a key part of our plan to offer a full lineup of green vehicles, and we are building a center of excellence in the US, here in Michigan, to keep Ford on the cutting edge. TodayÔÇÖs announcement is another important step in our larger strategy to launch a family of hybrids, plug-in hybrids and full electric vehicles around the world.ÔÇØ Bob King, UAW vice president, National Ford Department added: ÔÇ£I am proud of the tremendous success of the UAW and Ford in working together to keep good manufacturing jobs in the US. We are pleased that both Rawsonville and Van Dyke Transmission have been selected to produce these important components for Ford's next generation hybrid-electric vehicles.ÔÇØ He concluded: ÔÇ£These new products will help the community and local economy in Michigan by creating 170 new direct jobs at Ford and hundreds of other supporting jobs in the community, while helping to reduce emissions that cause air pollution and global warming.ÔÇØ The news has certainly been welcomed in Michigan, which has the nationÔÇÖs highest unemployment rate at 14 percent. The state was hit hard by the downturn in the auto industry. In 2009, sales of Ford hybrid vehicles reached 33,502ÔÇöan increase of 72 percent on the previous year. Based in Dearborn, Michigan, Ford manufactures or distributes vehicles across six continents. With about 176,000 employees and about 80 plants worldwide, the companyÔÇÖs automotive brands include Ford, Lincoln, Mercury and, until its sale, Volvo.