Ford begins Puma production in Romania

Production has begun of the Ford Motor Company's Puma SUV-inspired compact crossover at its assembly facility in Craiova, Romania. To prepare for large scale production of the new vehicle, Ford initiated a process of hiring over 1,700 people over the past year and has invested around €200-million in the Romanian facility.

Since taking over the plant at Craiova, Ford has invested over €1.5-billion.

"It is a great achievement for us to produce here, in Craiova, not only the most technologically advanced vehicle ever manufactured in Romania, but also the first with integrated hybrid technology," Ford Romania president Ian Pearson said.

The Ford Puma, which features a 48-volt mild-hybrid powertrain technology, was unveiled earlier this year and stands among Ford's range of European crossover and SUVs including Fiesta, EcoSport, Edge, Active and Kuga.

The new vehicle is in addition to the EcoSport small SUV currently built in Craiova, plus Ford’s 1.0‑litre EcoBoost engine. The company started EcoSport SUV production at Craiova following a 200 million euro investment in October 2017.

Ford has said that the anticipated production volumes for both the Puma and EcoSport will mean the vehicle assembly factory has to work in three shifts.

The auto giant entered Romania in March 2008 through the acquisition of a 72.4% stake in Automobile Craiova, the sole owner of car maker and distributor Daewoo Automobile Romania.

Ford currently employs around 6,000 people in Romania.

Back to Homepage

Back to Transportation