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Ford's Michigan Truck Plant was once responsible for manufacturing the Ford Expedition, a 300-horsepower behemoth, and the 14-mile-per-gallon Lincoln Navigator. During the heydays of the SUV boom, it was one of the most profitable manufacturing sites in the world. However, last summer's fuel price spikes, economic downturn, and growing concern over the environment, have all contributed to a shift in consumer demand and a dramatic drop in the plant's profitability. Now, Ford is looking to remake the plant to prepare the company for a more viable, and eco-friendly, future.
On May 5, the company announced that the Michigan Truck Plant would be completely renovated and reconfigured. The factory, renamed the Michigan Assembly Plant, will now be responsible for producing the 35-mpg Ford Focus and, in 2011, an electric version of the same.
The company has already committed $75 million to the $550 million project, expected to create 3,000 jobs in Michigan. Ford's president, Alan Mulally, said that "the transformation of the Michigan Assembly Plant embodies the larger transformation under way at Ford?this is about investing in modern, efficient and flexible American manufacturing. It is about fuel economy and the electrification of vehicles."
Still, Ford plans to continue to manufacture large vehicles in nearly the same volume. Indeed, the transformation is not about turning a company that has historically specialized in large vehicles into one that focuses on lighter, smaller, more efficient ones. Instead, as Joseph Hinrichs, Ford's vice president of global manufacturing, explained, it's about developing a "more balanced portfolio" of vehicles.
Even if it is not a totally reorientation for the company, seeing a push to develop environmentally-friendly vehicles is encouraging. Hopefully, consumers will give Ford no choice but to expand their green car lines.
Find out more about environmental politics and issues in Focus Earth: May 9, 2009: Ford Focus and The Prince and the Rainforest.
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