Ford says it is investing $760 million to build a new assembly plant in Hangzhou, China, with joint-venture partner Changan Ford Mazda Automobile.
The auto maker says the new plant will diversify its manufacturing footprint in the country by giving it greater access to the large customer base in the affluent coastal areas.
When the new factory is complete in 2015, it will have initial capacity of 250,000 units annually, expanding Ford’s total capacity in China to 1.2 million.
The announcement comes two weeks after the auto maker announced plans to invest $600 million to expand capacity by 350,000 units annually at its Chongqing facilities, which include two assembly plants. A transmission facility and engine plant are under construction at the site.
Ford says the latest expenditure raises its investment in China to $4.9 billion over the past six year.
“Ford’s investments in China and across Asia represent its largest and most rapid global expansion in 50 years,” Joe Hinrichs, president of Ford Asia Pacific and Africa, says in a statement. “This expansion will help us realize an increase in global sales by about 50% from 2010 to about 8 million vehicles annually by mid-decade.”
Construction of the new plant will begin later this year. Ford has yet to announce what vehicles it will produce in Hangzhou.
