CHONGQING, China, May 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Ford, together with its partners in China, is building its first transmission plant in China to support Ford's aggressive growth plan in the world's largest auto market.

Ford's passenger vehicle joint venture in China, Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Ltd. (CFMA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding today for the transmission plant project with the Chongqing Municipal Government.  The plant, with an initial investment of US$350 million to be entirely funded by CFMA, will produce advanced fuel-efficient 6-speed automatic transmissions with an initial annual capacity of up to 400,000 units, supplying Ford brand vehicles produced and sold locally by CFMA.

"This transmission plant investment represents yet another important milestone in Ford's accelerated growth plan for this important market," said Joe Hinrichs, president of Ford Asia Pacific and Africa.  "Together with prior investments announced in the past few years, this new plant demonstrates Ford's unprecedented commitment to the China market and how we are leveraging advanced global technologies to support Ford's aggressive plan to introduce 15 brand new vehicles to China by 2015."

The transmission plant, to be located in Chongqing's New North Zone, is scheduled to break ground this July and start production in the fourth quarter of 2013.  

Marin Burela, president of CFMA, said, "As CFMA's first transmission plant in China, this project will greatly expand our manufacturing footprint and technical capabilities in China , enabling us to provide an increased level of high-quality, and fuel-efficient vehicles with smart technologies to the Chinese consumers.  We are incredibly excited about this important and strategic investment."

CFMA manufactures award-winning Ford Mondeo, Ford Focus, Ford Fiesta and Ford S-MAX.

This new transmission plant represents the latest in a slew of investments previously announced by Ford and its partners in China.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Ltd (CFMA) and Chongqing Municipal Government in September 2010 for a new engine plant with a total investment of US$ 500 million. It will start construction later this year and is scheduled to begin production in 2013 with an initial annual capacity of 400,000 units.

On July 18, 2010, Ford Motor China's strategic commercial vehicle investment Jiangling Motors Corp (JMC) broke ground for a new US$300-million assembly plant in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province.

In September 2009, Ford announced a US$490 million investment for a new passenger car plant in Chongqing with initial annual capacity of 150,000 units. It will boost total annual production capacity at CFMA to around 600,000 units by 2012 to help meet increasing demand for Ford brand vehicles in China. The passenger car plant will begin manufacturing Ford's next-generation Ford Focus in 2012.

About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F), a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents.  With about 166,000 employees and about 70 plants worldwide, the company's automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company.

Ford Motor China Ltd,, established in 1995, is responsible for manufacturing, marketing and servicing Ford-branded vehicles in China. Today's Ford vehicle line-up in China includes Edge, Fiesta, Focus, Mondeo, S-MAX and Transit.  With over 20,000 employees across the country, Ford's wholly owned subsidiaries, joint ventures and investment  in China include Ford Motor (China) Limited, Ford Motor Research & Engineering (Nanjing) Co., Ltd., Ford Automotive Finance (China) Ltd., Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Co., Ltd., Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Co., Ltd. Nanjing Company, Changan Ford Mazda Engine Co., Ltd. and Jiangling Motors Co., Ltd.

For more information regarding Ford's products, please visit www.ford.com and www.ford.com.cn.

SOURCE Ford Motor Company