Ford produce 350 millionth car
The milestone vehicle, a burgundy Ford Focus coupe manufactured at Ford's Thailand plant, was rolled off the line in a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by senior Ford Motor Compnay executives, including: Gary Johnson, VP, Manufacturing, Ford Asia Pacific & Africa; John Fleming, Executive VP, Global Manufacturing and Labor Affairs; Trevor Negus, manufacturing director, Ford Thailand manufacturing; and Matt Bradley, president Ford ASEAN.
Ford's Rayong, Thailand, factory is the company's newest global manufacturing facility, and is one of nine either in production or planned for the Asia/India region. The Ford Thailand Manufacturing (FTM) plant is a $450 million facility that features new stamping presses, flexible body shops and robotic capabilities that enable it to produce up to six different vehicles simultaneously.
"Producing 350 million vehicles is equivalent to producing one vehicle every 10 seconds for our 109-year history. If placed end to end, the vehicles would stretch to the moon and back - twice," said John Fleming.
"Producing this vehicle in Thailand also is significant. It underscores the power of our One Ford plan to deliver profitable growth with great products built in ultra-flexible and efficient facilities everywhere around the world."
The Focus was also significant as the milestone vehicle, as it has been the best-selling single car nameplate in the world, based on global data from IHS Automotive, for the first six months of 2012.
According to IHS Automotive, the Ford Focus sold 489,616 units in the first half of this year. The nearest competitor, Toyota Corolla, sold 462,187.
By next year, Ford will build more than 85 percent of vehicle volume off nine core platforms. Also, in the next four years, Ford plans to have the freshest global vehicle lineup - with the entire product portfolio expected to be upgraded at least one time.
A snapshot of past milestones includes some iconic models from the Blue Oval
1 millionth - 1915 Model T
10 millionth - 1924 Model T
50 millionth - 1959 Galaxie sedan
100 millionth - 1978 Fairmont Futura
150 millionth - 1979 Mustang coupe
300 millionth - 2004 Mustang convertible
Images: Ford Media
