With an average price tag of EUR20,000 including VAT, Puma could contribute EUR4 billion to the revenue of the plant in Romania, ZF has calculated.
Ford set out to take on the best-selling small SUV in Europe, Renault Captur and brought the most advanced small car to the plant in Craiova, which comes in trim versions never offered on this market before.
Puma will be competing on the small SUV segment, where sales stand at more than 200,000 units a year. With such a production, the US carmaker could assemble at least 300,000 Puma and EcoSport vehicles in Craiova, whose market value stands at at least EUR5.4 billion, according to ZF calculations, taking into account an average price of EUR18,000 for Puma and EcoSport.
“Production will begin towards the end of the fall, a similar calendar to EcoSport’s two years ago. Commercial launch will take place in the fourth quarter of the year so 2020 will be the first full year in production,” Ian Pearson, Ford Romania president, said.
Ford invested EUR200 million in the plant in Craiova to start production of the new Puma and has hired almost 600 of the 1,700 people it plans to this year, he added.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)