WASHINGTON, July 1 (RIA Novosti) - Ford is stepping up production of SUVs in Russia in a bid to improve the automaker’s European performance, Bloomberg.com reported.
Ford Sollers, a joint venture between Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford and Sollers, a leading Russian automotive company headquartered in Moscow will combine ongoing production of the Ford Explorer with the Kuga Sport (marketed as the Escape in the US) and the smaller Ecosport in a bid to boost second half sales after an 18 percent decline in deliveries through May, Bloomberg reported Ford Sollers CEO Ted Cannis as saying.
Ford Sollers launched full production of the Ford Explorer in Elabuga, Tatarstan in April, the first time the popular SUV has been manufactured outside the US.
Russia may be on target to surpass Germany as the largest market for automobiles in Europe: according to AEB Automobile Manufacturers Committee estimates sales of new cars in Russia may reach as high as 3.1 million units in 2013. Germany totaled 3 million deliveries in 2012.
