Ford manufactured 17,105 Transit Connect commercial vehicles between April 2010 and October 2011.
The Transit Connect production was relocated to Ford’s car plant in Valencia, following a decision taken in June, aimed to reorganize Ford’s Europe-based car plants.
Reorganization at Ford’s Craiova-based plant entailed ceasing the production of Transit Connect and staring the B-Max production.
In 2010, Ford produced 9,558 Transit Connect cars in Romania and 7,547 units this year.
Ford has started the production of the B-Max minivan prototypes in Craiova in June this year. B-Max will be produced exclusively in Romania but will first enter West European markets. In Romania, the minivan will be available starting the third quarter of 2012.
Staring next year, Ford’s Romanian plant will build the smallest engine ever produced by the company – the EcoBoost engine. The engine production capacity will reach 350,000 units annually.
Ford has committed in the privatization contract signed with Romanian authorities in September 2007 to manufacture over 250,000 cars in Craiova by September 2011.
Last year, the U.S. carmaker asked the Government to extend by one year the deadline stated in the contract, citing the economic crisis.
By June, Ford invested EUR450 million in its plant in Craiova. It committed in the privatization contract to invest EUR675 million in the plant.