Ford planning for new small pickup in US - FOXSports.com
Ford is making plans for a return to the small pickup truck market in the U. S. with a new version of the Ranger. The company is negotiating with the United Auto Workers about making the truck at a factory in the Detroit suburb of Wayne, Michigan, a person briefed on the matter said Wednesday. The Wayne factory, which Ford calls the Michigan Assembly Plant, employs more than 4,400 workers. The 5-million-square-foot facility now makes the Focus compact and C-Max gas-electric hybrid. Ford is expected to move those products to a lower-cost factory in Mexico in 2018, but has yet to confirm the move. Sales tumbled when bigger pickups, such as the Ford F-150, caught up in fuel economy. Ford got out of the small pickup market in the U. S. in 2011, followed by General Motors in 2012. But GM has returned to the market, selling nearly 88,000 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon models this year. The smaller trucks, which are more efficient that full-size pickups, could help GM and Ford meet government fuel economy requirements. Source: www.foxsports.com
