Ford Motor Co. (F) announced that it is increasing the production of its top-selling vehicles at the Saarlouis and Cologne assembly plants in Germany. The automaker is taking this step in order to satisfy the rising demand for top-selling vehicles along with the expected increase in industry sales in the first half of 2015.
Fiesta is Ford’s best-selling vehicle in Europe, followed by the Ford Focus and C-MAX. The automaker announced that from Feb 2015, it will increase the production of the Ford Fiesta by 300 units per day to 1,850 vehicles at the Cologne plant in Germany.
Also, it will add six extra weekend shifts in January and February at the Cologne plant. In addition, the company will increase production of the Focus, C-MAX and Grand C-MAX by 240 units per day at the Saarlouis plant, this week onward. Thus total production will increase to 1,770 vehicles per day in the Saarlouis plant.
Ford’s European sales increased 7.3% year over year in 2014, surpassing the total industry improvement. Thus, the automaker’s total vehicle market share in the continent went up 8%. Also, Ford continues to occupy the spot of the second top-selling vehicle brand in Europe.
This year, Ford will actively focus on the European market with the launch of several new vehicles and the rollout of the new Focus and all-new Mondeo. The company will introduce the new versions of the Galaxy, S-MAX and CMAX, Grand C-MAX, C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid, Focus ST and Focus ST diesel, Mustang fastback and convertible, and the revamped versions of EcoSport, Ranger, Transit Connect and Tourneo Connect. The automaker will also begin the production of the all-new Edge SUV in late 2015.
Ford currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Investors interested in the auto industry could consider better-ranked stocks like Meritor, Inc. (MTOR), PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) and Magna International Inc. (MGA). All these stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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