A decline at Ford has a direct impact on Romania’s exports, as the carmaker is the third largest exporter of the country.
Its profit shrank by almost 70% to EUR6 million in 2014. Ford Romania officials did not provide any comment on the revenue or profit.
The decline comes as a result of the 23% drop in the number Ford B-Max cars assembled at Ford’s plant in Craiova, southern Romania, to almost 53,000, while engine production dropped from 180,000 in 2013 to some 155,000 in 2014. Production decline continued this year, with the plant assembling only 21,700 B-Max units in January-May, 18% fewer than in the year-ago period.
The lower engine production was due to Ford moving production of the 1.5 liter EcoBoost engine to the Bridgend plant in Wales, while continuing to manufacture only the 1.0 liter engine in Romania.
Sales of Ford vehicles, however, increased by 37% to almost 7,000 units in 2014, on an auto market that grew by 21%.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)