Ford to close truck factory in Brazil in centenary year
By Jim Gibbins - 1st April 2019
Brazil - In its centenary year in Brazil, Ford Brasil Ltda surprised the market in February by announcing it is to close its factory in São Bernardo do Campo, ABC Paulista region, where it produces the Ford F-Series models (F-350 and F-4000 trucks) and Ford Cargo truck, as well as the Ford Fiesta car; production is expected to cease as soon as inventories run out, the company stated. This negative announcement comes exactly 100 years after the inauguration of an assembly line in the city centre of São Paulo, for the production of the Ford T car, and soon thereafter, the truck version of the same vehicle under the name Ford TT.
In a statement to the press at the end of February – see T&BB March issue - the company said it was pulling out of the truck segment in South America as part of a global restructuring programme to return the company to sustainable profitability by region.
