São Paulo – Ford United States is going to use Sigma engines, manufactured at Brazilian plants, on its new generation of Fiesta 1.6 model vehicles. The engine is a 4-cylinder and, according to the company, is long-lasting and economical.
“The Sigma 1.6L is the newest example out of over 30 advanced technology engines that we are launching from now until 2013. Each of these engines is going to deliver the power that our new customers want, combined with the fuel economy that they need,” stated Jim Farley, Ford’s Global Marketing vice-president for operations in Canada, Mexico and South America.
“This is yet another tangible example of our One Ford strategy, which includes making the best possible use of our technologies and global manufacturing capacities,” added the executive in a press release issued by Ford.
“It is a great acknowledgement for Brazil to have its engines chosen to supply one of the world’s most demanding markets, equipping a new product whose importance is strategic to Ford’s business in the United States,” said Marcos de Oliveira, president of Ford in Brazil and the Mercosur. “The Sigma engine combines performance and fuel economy,” he claimed, also in a press release.
In South America, in turn, the first vehicle to use a Sigma engine is the Novo Focus (New Focus), equipped with the 1.6 Flex version developed in Brazil.
Investment
In order to manufacture the new generation of engines, Ford invested 600 million Brazilian reals (US$ 344 million) in expanding its industrial complex in the city of Taubaté.
Afterwards, in November 2009, the automaker announced the highest figure ever invested in one single cycle in its 90 years in Brazil: 4 billion reals (US$ 2.2 billion) from 2011 to 2015, with the objective of preparing its operations to match the expansion of Brazilian economy and increase its global competitiveness.
According to a press release issued at the time by the company, 2.8 billion reals (US$ 1.6 billion) would be invested in the Brazilian Northeast, in order to increase capacity at the plant in Camaçari, in the state of Bahia, to 300,000 units per year, creating 1,000 new jobs, and also to modernize the Troller jeep manufacturing plant in Horizonte, in the state of Ceará.
The company had also invested 370 million reals (US$ 212 million) in its Ford Trucks operations, in the city of São Bernardo do Campo, in the Greater São Paulo region.
“Ford Brazil is the company’s third largest subsidiary worldwide, sales-wise. It has factories in the cities of São Bernardo do Campo and Taubaté, both in the state of São Paulo, Camaçari, in the state of Bahia, plus a Testing Facility in Tatuí, also in São Paulo, and the Troller manufacturing operation, in the state of Ceará,” stated Marcos de Oliveira, president of Ford in Brazil and the Mercosur, in a release issued in 2009.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
