Ford To Boost 2009 Vehicle Production To Meet Growing Consumer Demand

August 13, 2009 1:19 p.m. EST

Dearborn, MI (AHN) - Ford Motor (NYSE:F) said Thursday that it plans to raise North American production in the rest of the year in a bid to meet growing consumer demand, helped by the government's "cash for clunkers" program.

Ford aims to increase output by 10,000 units to 495,000 new vehicles in the third quarter, which is almost 18 percent more than the production level of a year-ago period. The production gain will primarily focus on building additional Escape small utility vehicles and Focus small cars.

The automaker also plans to produce 570,000 vehicles in the fourth quarter, 33 percent higher than year-ago levels and 15 percent above the third quarter production plan. In the final three months, the increase will represent higher production across a range of cars, crossovers and trucks.

"Under the 'Cash for Clunkers' program, the Ford Escape and Focus are flying off dealer lots, and we're doing all we can to ensure our dealers are well stocked with the fuel-efficient vehicles that customers really want," Mark Fields, Ford's president of The Americas, said in a statement today.

"We'll need this additional production as even more people are drawn to our high-quality, fuel-efficient lineup, including our newest entries such as the Ford Taurus and Lincoln MKT," he added.

Ford said that it has asked the UAW to work over time and its suppliers to ramp up production of the Escape and Focus.

"We asked our union partners to pull out all the stops - overtime, Saturday shifts, working during the shutdown - and they have delivered," Joe Hinrichs, Ford group vice president, Global Manufacturing and Labor Affairs, said in the statement.

The automaker said that at the Kansas City (Missouri) Assembly Plant, employees agreed to work Friday and Saturday, Aug. 21-22, during what was a planned shutdown week. In August and September, Ford will build around 3,500 additional Escapes.

Separately, at Wayne (Michigan) Assembly Plant, Ford is planning to raise Focus production by more than 6,000 units in the third quarter through increased overtime Monday through Friday and adding Saturday production shifts.