Ford Begins Exporting Spain-Built Kuga

MADRID – Export shipments are under way of Ford’s locally built, second-generation Kuga cross/utility vehicles, as the auto maker looks to copy in Europe the sales success of its Escape CUV in the U.S.

The Kuga, which shares its architecture and design with the U.S. Escape, is the first of 15 new models included in the restructuring strategy rolled out to the media by Ford CEO Alan Mulally in Amsterdam in September. Following the Kuga launch, Ford will unleash new EcoSport and Edge CUVs in Europe.

The Kuga will be exported to more than 70 countries and is part of the €1.1 billion ($1.4 billion) the auto maker invested during the 2009-2012 period in its Almussafes plant, near Valencia on Spain’s eastern coast.

The new Kuga accounted for €230 million ($298 million) of the investment, with most of the remaining €882 million ($1.14 billion) dedicated to the next-generation Transit Connect, which begins production in Almussafes in 2013.

When the new Transit Connect is fully ramped up, Ford Spain expects to be producing 230,000 vehicles annually in Almussafes. Production should increase to 300,000 units annually in 2014, Ford officials say.

If the Ford Spain projects go as planned, Almussafes will be the center of production for C-cars in Europe, the market’s biggest segment. That will mark an important strategy shift at the plant, which until now has been dedicated to smaller cars such as the Ka and Fiesta.

The new Kuga is being offered with 140- and 163-hp versions of Ford’s popular 2.0L TDCi diesel, combined with either manual or Powershift transmissions. Two 1.6L EcoBoost gasoline engines also are available, rated at either 150 or 180 hp.