Ford to build Fiestas at Mexican factory
DETROIT (AP) — Ford Motor Co. plans to build its new Fiesta subcompact at a factory near Mexico City for sale in the U.S., the company said Friday.
Ford plans to retool its Cuautitlan Assembly Plant from large-truck to small-car production as it moves to shift its factories from trucks toward more fuel-efficient vehicles, the company said.
The move is a blow to the United Auto Workers union, which last year approved a contract that granted concessions to the automaker. Earlier this year, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said the union would try to convince Ford that its U.S. plants were competitive enough that the automaker could make money building its smallest cars in the U.S. Currently, all subcompacts sold in the U.S. are built overseas, he said.
The Fiesta is critical to Ford’s effort to unify its global operations and sell versions of the same vehicle in markets worldwide.