Ford Motor Co. is cutting production at its factory in Saarlouis, Germany, because of a drop in demand in debt-laden southern Europe. Hit the jump to read the rest of the story.
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“We are seeing an impact on demand from the market weakness in some southern European countries,” said Bernhard Mattes, head of Ford’s German operations.
The Saarlouis plant makes the compact Focus model and the Kuga small SUV. It halted production for two days in August and aims to idle production for seven further shifts this year.
Ford’s plant in Cologne, which makes the Fiesta compact model, is not affected, Mattes said at the auto show here on Wednesday.
Mattes said Ford has seen greater than usual demand for vehicles with diesel engines, which partner PSA/Peugeot-Citroen has not been able to supply quickly enough. He expects that backlog to be caught up by year end.
