US car maker Ford expects its car assembly plant in Craiova, Romania, to reach its highest production in ten years this year, due to the new EcoSport SUV.

Ford, which took over the factory ten years ago from the Romanian state, launched the production of the EcoSport SUV in Craiova last year. In February, Ford produced some 11,000 EcoSport SUVs at Craiova. The company has hired 1,800 people to meet the demand for this new product, reaching a total of almost 4,500 employees. In 2008, when Ford took over, the car factory had close to 3,600 employees.

Ford has also invested EUR 200 million in the EcoSport project at Craiova, bringing its total investments to EUR 1.2 billion in the ten years since operating here.

The Romanian factory is one of the most technologically advanced in the group, according to Ford representatives. Besides the EcoSport SUVs the factory also produces Ford’s EcoBoost 1.0 engines.

In the last ten years, Ford has also produced the Ford Transit Connect utility vehicle and the B-Max model at Craiova.

editor@romania-insider.com