Ford to shift Australian focus to more fuel-efficient cars

Sydney - US carmaker Ford Motor Company will start producing its Focus model in Melbourne in 2010 in response to plunging sales of its six-cylinder Falcon and bright prospects for locally made smaller fuel-efficient cars, the company said Monday.

Ford announced 600 planned job cuts last week with the closure in 2010 of it Melbourne plant making six-cylinder engines. Sales of the thirsty, four-litre Falcon have fallen by a quarter in the first half of this year as Australians have shifted to smaller cars as petrol prices have risen and greenhouse gas emissions have become an issue.

Ford, which is Australia's oldest automotive manufacturer and employs 5,000 people, will take on 300 staff for the new Focus production line. It plans to manufacture 40,000 Focus cars a year, many for export to New Zealand, South Africa and other overseas markets.

The move will bring Australia back to small-car manufacturing a decade after the end of local production for Ford's Laser and Toyota's Corolla.

'This program will really more than double our export footprint,' Ford Australia president Tom Gorman said. 'It also reflects contemporary market demands for smaller vehicles and opens up significant export opportunities within the region.'

Toyota and Mitsubishi also make cars in Australia, but neither has plans to go back to making the smaller cars that are today's big sellers. ?© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

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