Ford cancels plan to build US$ 1.6 billion plant in Mexico

3 January, 2017

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Ford Motor Co. announced today it is canceling plans for a new US$ 1.6 billion assembly plant in Mexico, instead choosing to build small cars in an existing Mexican factory, and invest US$ 700 million in a Michigan facility that will build electric vehicles.

The move is a surprising turnaround for Ford after facing criticism by President-elect Donald Trump for more than a year in relation to its Mexico plan. Last month, Chief Executive Mark Fields said it was looking to work with the incoming administration on Mr. Trump’s trade agenda, but indicated it was too late to change its specific plan to build a new factory in Mexico.

"Make no mistake about it — Ford is a global automaker but our home is right here in the United States," Fields said at a press conference.

The move marks a sharp reversal for Ford, which has defended its production in Mexico even as Trump has assailed the company for expanding there.

To be sure, Ford acknowledged in a statement that it would still move production of the next-generation Focus sedan to Mexico. But it will be built at an existing plant in Hermosillo, Mexico, not at a new facility.

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