The government should honor its promise to Ford Romania to complete a motorway leading to its plant near Craiova, or it will reconsider its future investments in the country, CEO Ian Pearson told in an interview with Radio France Internationale.
He said that while Ford Romania has an increasing number of Romanian subcontractors delivering parts, most of the components for assembly come from elsewhere in Europe, mostly Northern and Western Europe, by road. The number of components sourced from Western Europe will also increase with the plant beginning th manufacture a second model, the Puma.
“I will give you a simple example”, Pearson said. “From Northern Germany to the Hungarian border we estimate a truck averages 75 km/h. Once it has crossed into Romania, the average speed all the was to Craiova (some 420 km from the border) drops to 45 km/h. This means an additional four hours of driving. Four additional hours of driving also means four hours’ worth of increased costs. And it doesn’t just affect us, but all the other car manufacturers in Romania. The infrastructure, as it is now, is a competitive handicap.”
Pearson also said that while the government has promised to complete the motorway by 2021, that deadline, while possible to meet, is “more of a theoretical possibility than a realistic one”.
“We must go beyond discussions and arrive at practical things. This is like any other stage of a business (…) We need actions, not words”, Pearson said. While he said that even if their demands are not met, Ford will not consider relocating its Romanian plant, he also said that it “will need to see what is happening in Romania and in light of what is effectively happening we will invest accordingly.”
Ford has acquired its Craiova plant from the Romanian government and has so far invested EUR 1.5 billion ($1.7 bln) in the country and directly employs 2,648 people and currently assembles its Ford EcoSport model there and makes 1.0 and 1.5-liter EcoBoost engines.
