U-S-A! Ford reportedly moving production of Kuga to America
2009 Ford Kuga (Euro Spec) - Click above for high-res image gallery
The Ford Kuga is currently made in Europe and isn't available for sale here in the States, but if a report from Bloomberg is to be believed, the next Kuga could be produced in Louisville, Kentucky for sale both here and abroad. Bloomberg's sources claim that Ford plans to build as many as 80,000 Kuga crossovers here for export overseas by October 2011, which would undoubtedly make members of the United Auto Workers union very happy.
Ford is currently awaiting the ratification of a new labor deal that would put labor costs of the Dearborn, MI-based automaker on a nearly equal footing with General Motors and Chrysler. A major tenet of the negotiations is the guarantee of new product to build in U.S. assembly plants, effectively giving 41,000 blue collar Ford employees some much needed job security. A summary of the tentative agreement between the UAW and Ford reportedly states that the Louisville facility will receive a new product with "considerable export volume," so it's not a far leap to surmise that the Kuga will become Kentucky born and bred.
At this point, Ford has only announced that the Louisville plant will receive a more fuel efficient product based on Ford's global C platform. The Kuga certainly fits that bill, and building the small crossover in the good ol' US of A makes financial sense right now since the dollar is worth less than the euro or British pound, and labor costs in the U.S. could be $10 per hour cheaper than they are in Germany, for instance.
Gallery: First Drive: 2008 Ford Kuga
[Source: Bloomberg]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Dude 11:33AM (10/23/2009)
Future report: UAW goes on strike. Worldwide Kuga production in jeopardy.
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Greg Aryous 11:52AM (10/23/2009)
The new Ford UAW contract calls for "No Strike" clause to protect Ford.
MeiSooHaityu 11:52AM (10/23/2009)
Nope. Part of the UAW agreement is that the Union under contract cannot strike till i think 2012 or 2014, something like that.
Man the Euro is killing europe over there. Now that the U.S. dollar is tanking, it is going to get alot cheaper to build things here (hence one reason why the Saturn Astra was expensive: built as Opel Astra in europe).
BTW, that is a nice looking SUV, CUV, whatever. I prefer cars, but it is cool looking
daleam 12:11PM (10/23/2009)
UAW contracts with Detroit automakers have had limited strike clauses for years. Only certain issues were allowed under contract and pay is not one of them. For better or worse, no strike would limit this even further.
Matt 12:32PM (10/23/2009)
That's nuts. Workers shouldn't have to give up their right to strike......especially when the company is doing as good as Ford says they are.
My advice to all of the Ford UAW workers........vote NO for the contract modifications. Take the words of your CEO Alan Mulally when he was in front of congress:
"I'm fine where I'm at."
Infinihertz 12:54PM (10/23/2009)
Except the UAW frequently cites "safety issues" as their reason for striking because it's nebulous and never covered in their no strike clauses. Once they get some sort of concession, the safety problem magically disappears. I wouldn't expect anything, even in writing, to matter if they want to strike.
Randy 1:21PM (10/23/2009)
@Matt
Not striking is based on the fact that Ford will meet the guidelines in the agreement. Strikes sometimes happen over future agreements, not current ones. As well Ford can't say "you haven't done your job right" and fire someone that easily with the UAW so it's kinda even turf.
Finally, I think Ford, GM and whomever should have said "Have a nice day" to the unions. Fired EVERYONE and said "want a job? apply for it". You can't create better timing for such a thing!
That's just my opinion!
Randy
murray 1:31PM (10/23/2009)
isnt this a volkswagon tiguan?
The Other Bob 11:37AM (10/23/2009)
Will this be the new Escape or is it smaller? The Escape cannot go bigger or it will overlap the Edge.
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Alex 11:41AM (10/23/2009)
I could be wrong, but i think it is smaller. I seem to recall hearing that this is built on the Focus (euro) chassis.
LaserRed38 11:46AM (10/23/2009)
I believe it's roughly the same outer dimensions. The Escape, while based on the old Mondeo platform, is still a fairly small vehicle. Especially inside. I'd imagine the interior packaging on the Kuga is better. I could see the next gen Kuga replacing the Escape, even though in Europe they were/are sold alongside each other (Maverick).
martinez 1:19PM (10/23/2009)
it's about the size of the CR-V - a bit wider but a couple of inches shorter. the shape makes it appear smaller than the Escape. it looks better in person, more aggressive than the CR-V.
zamafir 1:59PM (10/23/2009)
Bigger? I don't care, this looks a hell of a lot better than the escape or the edge. ... and drives better if euro reviews are to be believed.
Farmboy 4:10PM (10/23/2009)
It is about the size of the Escape. It will likely be a successor. I think if they restricted to a Mercury, that wouldn't be a bad idea. Have a sturdier looking version as the Escape and a sleeker model as a Mercury.
Dave 11:38AM (10/23/2009)
Does it chase after younger male CUVs?
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Alex 11:42AM (10/23/2009)
It is certainly the kind of car i could see the cougars driving.
geo.stewart 11:58AM (10/23/2009)
good RDX competitor in an uplevel trim, based on looks
Polly Prissy Pants 1:05PM (10/23/2009)
Hey yoose guys, check out da kuga!
TwhiT 9:18PM (10/24/2009)
haha I seriously lol'd Dave
Swede 11:38AM (10/23/2009)
Hmm, sounds a bit odd. It'll be interesting to see how they compare. "Made in the USA" isn't a big selling point. It usually scares customers away.
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