The Ford Motor Company has announced that its new Fiesta will be added to the North American line-up.. Click image to enlarge

Mexico City, Mexico – The Ford Motor Company has announced that its new Fiesta will be produced at the company’s Cuautitlán Assembly Plant in Mexico, beginning in early 2010, and that a European hatchback model will be added to the North American line-up alongside the sedan.

The plant will be transformed beginning this year, and will be converted from its current production of F-Series pickups for the Mexican market to small cars for all of North America. The Chihuahua Engine Plant, which builds four-cylinder engines, will also assemble diesel engines for light- and medium-duty trucks in a variety of global markets. In addition, through a joint venture with Getrag, Ford will establish a new transmission plant in Guanajuato to support various Ford products.

The new multi-plant development represents a US$3 billion investment, including the support of local suppliers, and is Mexico’s largest-ever automotive investment. The moves are expected to create approximately 4,500 Ford jobs.

“Ford is absolutely committed to leveraging our global assets to accelerate the shift to more fuel-efficient small cars and powertrain technologies that people really want and value,” said Alan Mulally, Ford President and CEO. “Our investments in these facilities in Mexico are part of our plan to further realign our manufacturing capacity in line with the introduction of more small cars and crossovers.”

The concept Verve, debuted at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January, showcased the design direction for the new Fiesta. Both the sedan and hatchback models were displayed. The Fiesta is the first of Ford’s new global family of small cars, set to debut in Europe and Asia later this year and next year, and in North America early in 2010.

The total investment is expected to increase Ford of Mexico’s annual production to nearly 500,000 vehicles and 330,000 engines by 2012, with nearly 80 per cent of the vehicles and most of the engines slated for the North American market. With the switch from trucks to small cars at the Mexican plants, trucks for the Mexican market will be imported from the U.S.