Ford, Mazda and Changan Automotive Group Partner to Create One of the Largest and Most Modern Engine Manufacturing Facilities in China
NANJING, CHINA, April 26, 2007 - Volume production officially kicked-off today at Ford Motor Company's new joint venture engine production facility, Changan Ford Mazda Engine Company Ltd. (CFME), in Nanjing, China. The first BZ series engines rolled off the production line at CFME, representing the latest strategic deployment by Ford Motor Company to enhance its competitiveness and continue its rapid expansion in the world's fastest growing major automotive market.
CFME is one of the largest and most modern engine manufacturing plants in China, with a massive 350,000-unit annual production capacity that will supply production operations for Ford and Mazda vehicles in China. The state-of-the-art manufacturing facility consists of three major plants for casting, machining, and assembly. Five key components of the motor are being manufactured on-site, including the cylinder block, cylinder head, crankshaft, camshaft, and connecting rod.
The US$312.5 million facility is a joint venture between Ford, Mazda and China's Changan Automotive Group, with Changan holding a 50 percent share and Ford Motor Company and Mazda Motor Company holding 25 percent each.
“CFME represents a critical progression in Ford Motor Company's long-term vision and growth strategy for the China market, and keeps us on track to becoming one of the key players in the world's second largest automotive market,” said Mr. Mei-Wei Cheng, chairman and CEO of Ford Motor (China) Ltd.
“This world-class facility and its state-of-the-art production technologies will push the industry benchmark higher in China, and help bolster the future development and expansion of Ford Motor Company and our partners in the China market," commented Cheng.
Executives representing the three CFME partners signed a joint venture agreement in April 2005, and then five months later broke ground for the plant, which is located in Nanjing's Jiang Ning Economic and Technological Development Zone.
CFME’s BZ series engine is one of the world’s finest engines, embodying the latest engine designs and manufacturing techniques from Mazda. The BZ series engine adopts a modern aluminum cylinder head and block, intake VCT (variable cam timing), plastic intake manifold, TSCV (tumble swirl control valve), and multi-point electronic fuel injection. All of these features significantly improve engine performance, adding more power and better fuel economy, reducing exhaust and noise, as well as exceeding Chinese government standards.
CFME expects to introduce additional Ford and Mazda engine series into production as its future volume utilization expands.
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., U.S.A., manufactures and distributes automobiles in 200 markets across six continents. The company’s automotive brands available in the China market include Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mazda, and Volvo, as well as automotive-related services that include QualityCare, and Ford Credit via Ford Automotive Financing (China) Co., Ltd. (FAFC). Ford’s history in China can be traced to 1913, when the first Model T was imported and sold in Shanghai. In 2001, a joint venture was formed with Changan Automotive Corporation Ltd., called Changan Ford Automobile Corporation Ltd. (Changan Ford). With an investment from Mazda in March 2006, the company was restructured and renamed as Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Co., Ltd. (CFMA). Additionally, Ford owns a 30 percent share of Jiangling Motors Corporation Ltd., which produces the Ford Transit commercial vehicle.
Changan Automotive Corporation Ltd, Ford Motor Company and Mazda Motor Company's three-way engine plant joint venture - Changan Ford Mazda Engine Company Co., Ltd., started volume production on April 26, 2007. Changan Ford Mazda Automobile's second passenger car plant in Nanjing is scheduled to go online before the end of 2007.