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Ford axes Brazil truck operation, Fiesta production


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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ford-motor-southamerica-heavytruck/ford-exiting-heavy-truck-business-in-south-america-idUSKCN1Q82EB

SAO PAULO/DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co said on Tuesday it would exit its heavy commercial truck business in South America in a plant closing that could cost more than 2,700 jobs, part of a global restructuring meant to end losses in different regions. Ford previously said the reorganization would result in $11 billion in charges. The factory in Sao Bernardo do Campo, an industrial suburb of Sao Paulo, has operated since 1967 and was Ford’s first plant in Brazil. Although it once produced a number of auto models, it now makes F-4000 and F-350 trucks, as well as the poor-selling Fiesta.

I predicted Ford would exit the truck business which will make it easier to sell the South America operation.

The current Fiesta never took off in Brazil like EcoSport did. I think it makes more sense to pair EcoSport with Ka going forward on the same replacement cycle. The European and North America (and probably Chinese) EcoSport will probably be based on the new Fiesta while South America and India EcoSport will be based on Ka/Figo... assuming there is still a Ford South America and India.

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EcoSport doesn't sell well around here either. It is the fifth best-selling subcompact crossover in Brazil. Because of the mismanagement of the Ford Brazil subsidiary, they sell today well just Ka and Ranger. Ford needs a medium crossover and a compact crossover really better than the EcoSport in Brazil. The current EcoSport is very small and an old product, which has been in the same generation since 2013.

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1 hour ago, bzcat said:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ford-motor-southamerica-heavytruck/ford-exiting-heavy-truck-business-in-south-america-idUSKCN1Q82EB

 

 

I predicted Ford would exit the truck business which will make it easier to sell the South America operation.

The current Fiesta never took off in Brazil like EcoSport did. I think it makes more sense to pair EcoSport with Ka going forward on the same replacement cycle. The European and North America (and probably Chinese) EcoSport will probably be based on the new Fiesta while South America and India EcoSport will be based on Ka/Figo... assuming there is still a Ford South America and India.

Next EcoSport will probably use a Mahindra platform (XUV 500), while another mid-sized SUV from Ford will also use Mahindra platform.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 2/19/2019 at 7:30 PM, ausrutherford said:

Now they can take the Cargo stamping and put it into Avon Lake...

While I like that idea, with Fords continued investment into E-Series, the idea of a dedicated "low cab forward" truck is being served by E-Series...only way to make it better, as I have suggested elsewhere, is if Ford re-introduced E550 and use the same reasoning as they did with F600....

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17 hours ago, Bob Rosadini said:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the cab/chassis was pretty good (Mazda cab?)  The problem I think was take a POS 6.0 Power Stroke and cut 2 cylinders off it and you still have a lemon.

Yes, Mazda Titan cab.

Mark Fields (who was running Mazda at the time) sold the tooling to Blue Diamond and got Mazda out of medium duty trucks business. Mazda replaced the Titan with rebadged Isuzu NPR in Japan.

 

800px-Mazda_Titan_003.JPG

800px-2006_Ford_LCF_box_truck.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have to admit that Isuzu makes a real nice cabover. I saw a huge one at Nutmeg International in Hartford CT.  New York City used a lot of Ford Cargo tractors back in the late 1990's/early 2000's for hauling rescue trailers and I believe also for tiller ladders. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I put this here since it's South America related. Check out the configurations and bodies you just don't see here.  Fancy paint jobs too.  Video is only 9 min long, and check out the nose at 3:31!  You'll also see some Ford buses and it seems these F4000 trucks used MWM, Cummins, Detroits and even Perkins diesels according to this video and another one I can't find at the moment, which shows some F12000, F13000, and F15000 models!  They seem to use a lot of tandem axle Fords and Dodges down there, or they did at one time. There's also a video titled "20 marca (brands) of trucks in Brazil" but it's in Spanish print/language (as is this one)  and Ford is NOT shown!  Huh???!!!   

Caminhão F-4000 Ford - história completa - YouTube

Edited by Joe771476
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It turns out Ford's truck production will not stop. The factory is to be sold and the new owner will produce licensed Ford trucks. I think that is a good solution.

The new owner, CAOA Group, is an important partner to Ford, having by far the biggest number of Ford dealerships. They also produce licensed Hyundais and own 51% of CAOA Chery, the Brazilian arm of the chineses auto maker.

In portuguese:

https://jornaldocarro.estadao.com.br/carros/caoa-comprar-fabrica-ford-sao-bernardo/

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7 hours ago, passis said:

It turns out Ford's truck production will not stop. The factory is to be sold and the new owner will produce licensed Ford trucks. I think that is a good solution.

The new owner, CAOA Group, is an important partner to Ford, having by far the biggest number of Ford dealerships. They also produce licensed Hyundais and own 51% of CAOA Chery, the Brazilian arm of the chineses auto maker.

In portuguese:

https://jornaldocarro.estadao.com.br/carros/caoa-comprar-fabrica-ford-sao-bernardo/

So existing truck slate to be produced? Interesting that these guys can turn a profit on just trucks.  And I'm sure this isn't a case of a high cost UAW contract that makes continued use unprofitable which is often the compelling reason to shut down.

Ford has a sunk capital cost in the plant, these guys don't and they are going to make money?

But I guess not as much money as Hackett says Ford should be making.  In the short term anyway.

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27 minutes ago, Bob Rosadini said:

So existing truck slate to be produced? Interesting that these guys can turn a profit on just trucks.  And I'm sure this isn't a case of a high cost UAW contract that makes continued use unprofitable which is often the compelling reason to shut down.

Ford has a sunk capital cost in the plant, these guys don't and they are going to make money?

But I guess not as much money as Hackett says Ford should be making.  In the short term anyway.

And these guys will have to pay royalties to Ford...

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3 hours ago, ausrutherford said:

This seemingly allows Ford to buy it back easily if it wants in the future.

It also allows CAOA to source engineering to Ford Otosan. 

I was wondering about that-again hopefully they will be some economies of scale that go along with that.  And I've often thought about the conditions the Otosan and Brazil Cargos operate in.  Pretty tough conditions- and I would have to believe with often times very marginal maintenance.  They should be pretty tough vehicles.

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  • 1 month later...

Thank you Ford!

Reuters  /  May 21, 2019

Volkswagen AG truck brand Scania said on Tuesday it will invest 1.4 billion reais (US$344.14 million) to modernize its Brazilian factory in Sao Bernardo do Campo, an industrial city near Sao Paulo.

The investment in the historic center of Brazil’s auto industry follows Ford Motor Co’s decision to exit the heavy truck business in South America and shut down its plant in the same city, which could benefit the remaining players in the sector.

During the first four months of 2019, sales of Scania heavy trucks increased 31% compared to the same period a year ago, according to data compiled by local automakers association Anfavea.

The investment comes at a time when the state of Sao Paulo, which long dominated the Brazilian auto industry, has seen auto companies set up factories elsewhere, lured by tax incentives.

Earlier this year, General Motors threatened big cuts in its Sao Paulo factories. That prompted state governor Joao Doria to negotiate aggressively, ending in the launch of a new incentive package for auto makers in the state. GM then decided to invest $2.7 billion to take advantage of the tax program.

The new Scania investment will start in 2021 and end in 2024, following its 2016 to 2020 investments, which total 2.6 billion reais, the company said in a joint statement with the Sao Paulo state government.

Scania’s latest financial commitment is aimed at overhauling its assembly line, as well as introducing a new generation of trucks in Latin America.

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  • 1 year later...

It came out on the news today that Ford would have finally sold its truck/Fiesta plant in São Paulo. The buyer, a real estate developer / constructor, was interested in the land due to its location and size. They allegedly paid R$550 (a bit over US$100 million in today's exchange rate) and might seek a partner in the auto industry to use the infrastructure in place.

 

https://www.autoo.com.br/ford-pode-ter-encontrado-um-comprador-para-sua-fabrica-em-sao-bernardo-do-campo-sp-relata-site/

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