DETROIT, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- Ford Motor Co. said Monday it would assign production of a new hybrid and an electric car to the Michigan assembly plant, where the Ford Focus is built.
The production line for the plant in Wayne, Mich., is scheduled to include a plug-in Focus, with production beginning in 2011, the Detroit Free Press reported.
Ford Chairman Bill Ford Jr. announced the plans at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
In addition, Ford can use the same platform at other factories to produce 10 different vehicles, the newspaper said.
"We expect Ford to build on its recent operational improvements as it consolidates multiple platforms into one global platform per segment, which will improve global scale and commonality among products," industry analyst Brian Johnson at Barclays Capital said.
