Ford is preparing a bid for a plant in Romania
U.S. carmaker Ford on Thursday dismissed Slovak daily Hospodarske Noviny’s report saying it was considering building a new assembly plant in Slovakia. The report said a new Ford factory would be located in an industrial park near the eastern Slovak town of Kechnec, where a Ford-Getrag joint venture already makes gearboxes.
Todd Nissen, spokesman for Ford of Europe, told Reuters the story was purely "speculative" and that the carmaker does not confirm anything like that. Nissen also reiterated Ford's interest in an upcoming privatisation of Romania's Automobile Craiova.
The paper also quoted the Kechnec mayor as saying he was in talks with a renowned producer to make higher-class cars in the east and that the investment should be worth tens of billions of crowns and therefore, create hundreds of jobs. The auto sector represents one third of total industrial output and the Slovak crown is extremely sensitive to the currency pressure created by investment inflows.
Although Slovakia has been a magnet for investment inflows in the auto sector, the state investment agency SARIO said it was not in talks with Ford about a new plant.
Nissen said that Eastern Europe is certainly the area where markets are growing and where the company will increase its presence, preparing a bid for the plant in Romania. He said that Ford was looking to expand the plant and declined to reveal details of the bid. The Romanian privatisation agency AVAS has said the buyer would have to ensure a minimum yearly output of 300,000 cars.
General Motors and Russian Machines, a unit of one of the largest privately held conglomerates in Russia, are also said to be interested in the Romanian plant, the deadline for binding bids being July 5.
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