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Ford commits to establishing Australia’s ‘multipurpose’ engineering division


Ford’s The head of the internal combustion vehicle program, Trevor Worthington, says the company’s Australia-based team of engineers and designers is flexible enough to work on a wide range of products for the domestic and international markets. outside.

The Ford team here has grown forest ranger and Everest Moutain and has been deeply involved in the creation of vehicles for markets such as China and India.

Mr. Worthington said the women’s version and its SUV will remain the main focus in the future, but added that the group will have the ability to take on more focused electrified products in the future.

“So my intention is to completely maintain that expertise; because Ranger and Everest are unique compared to what we do everywhere else… well, who else can do what the Rangers and Everest teams do? ” he say.

“If I say they will work on electrified versions, I am confirming that there are electrified versions that they will have to work on. So I won’t say that.

“But I would say, is the team versatile? Do they have that flexibility to do different things? They have shown their ability to do just that. “

Although the Ranger and Everest are finally reaching showrooms after several years of design, development and engineering by Ford Australia, the local branch will continue to lead the two shows.

Ford Australia recently cut 120 jobs in its product design and development teams, but it said the tally includes contractors, not permanent employees. The cuts leave about 2300 workers left, a number that includes contractors.

The company says its contract labor levels frequently change, based on their product development cycle. It says these cuts happen as it reaches the next stage of the product launch and development cycle.

Ford Australia also said it would continue to contribute “broadly” to the global programme.

A Ford Australia spokesperson said: “Ford is currently undergoing a global transformation, including making significant changes in priorities and organization in line with the Ford+ plan for growth and create value”.

“As part of this, we have set clear goals to reduce our cost structure to ensure we are lean and fully competitive with the best in the industry.”

Ford invested $12 million in the expansion of its design studio in Melbourne, opened last year. The investment comes after Ford spent $1.9 billion on research and development in Australia between 2016 and 2019, followed by a $500 million outlay in 2020.

It said it typically invests about $500 million a year in its local operations.

The 2300m2 expansion of the local design center has resulted in them adding 100 new work stations, an expanded clay model workshop, a virtual reality evaluation space and a new five-axis gantry milling center to The group’s 40 clay model houses use.

The design studio is where the Ford Falcon was designed, dating back to the XA era in 1972. Also written here is the locally built Ford Territory.

Ford Australia designers and engineers have also worked on various products for China, India and South America that have never been sold here, including the Escort and Taurus for the Chinese market.





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