Building Where We Sell

Having A Presence Pays Off

Ford believes strongly that it is a critical business strategy to build vehicles where we sell them.  As a massive force in U.S. manufacturing, we are aggressively moving to add capacity in regions outside our home market. Today we build vehicles on six continents – from Australia to Argentina, and from Turkey to Thailand. Why? In a global economy, it’s the only way to be truly competitive. To us, having a presence in a particular market means more than having our vehicles displayed in a show room. It means putting that country’s citizens to work, incorporating them into the Ford family. It means becoming an integral part of the communities in which we do business.

Building where we sell also helps protect us against global instability. For example, having plants all over the world allows us to hedge against currency fluctuation. It also provides security against supply-chain interruptions caused by natural disasters or political upheaval. Further, as freight costs increase due in part to the increasing price of oil, we find the cost savings of being close to suppliers and customers simply makes it advantageous to build where we sell.

Other auto companies have followed the same logic. Consider that automakers based outside America continue to open factories here in the United States – earning them the nickname “transplants.” At Ford, we must continue to look at improving our cost structure to ensure that we remain competitive, and that strategy benefits us all over the world.