Ford Embraces Same-Supplier Strategy for C-Cars

Suppliers with Global Reach Stand to reap windfalls from Ford Motor Co.'s new C-car platform because the auto maker is determined to utilize the same vendors at every production site.

The platform is expected to account for 2 million units of production, annually, by 2012. Ford is committted to consolidating its global C-car supply base “to the extent that suppliers have the capacity,” says Bruce Hettle, director-vehicle operations manufacturing engineering.

The resulting insurance against component variability will help ensure quality, adds Manufacturing Director Bill Russo, who concedes complete supply chain harmonization is unlikely because of the scope of the C-car program.

The executives lift the veil on Ford's supplier strategy during a media event to announce a $75 million investment in its Michigan Truck fullsize SUV assembly plant in Wayne, MI. The outlay, aimed at upgrading the site's body shop which currently is home to Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator production, will enable the facility to produce vehicles based on the new platform.

Michigan Truck and Ford's midsize SUV plant in Louisville, KY, are the only two sites officially linked to the C-car platform. The auto maker is mum on product specifics but Ward's is told Louisville and Michigan Truck — which will be renamed, Russo says — will accommodate next-generation Ford Focus small-car production.

The executives also are silent on which plant will afford the highest output. Both will be “high volume,” Russo says.

Clearly, however, additional plants will be needed to achieve the platform's anticipated 2-million-plus global volume referenced recently by Ford product development chief Derek Kuzak.

Russo says Ford is committed to standardized tooling as it prepares for the global C-car program, but the auto maker still is in the process of selecting vendors.

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