First Ford Kuga Rolls Off The Saarlouis Production Line

SAARLOUIS, Germany – Production of the all-new Ford Kuga, Ford of Europe's first entry into the highly competitive crossover market, began today at the Ford plant in Saarlouis, Germany.

The company plans to build around 45,000 examples of the new model in Saarlouis this year – equivalent to nearly 10 per cent of the plant's annual production volume.

Altogether Ford invested a very significant amount in new manufacturing technology to support Kuga production at Saarlouis. Sales of the Kuga will progressively begin across all European markets a little later this year.

“A distinctive 'kinetic design' exterior, Ford's acclaimed on-road vehicle dynamics and premium-like quality are just some of the highlights Kuga will bring to the fast-growing crossover market segment,” remarked John Fleming, President and CEO Ford of Europe.

The Kuga is the fourth model to be launched at Saarlouis in the past 12 months. It follows the new Ford C-MAX in March 2007, the new Ford Focus in December 2007 and the new Ford Focus ST earlier this month.

And with the introduction of the Kuga, Saarlouis now manufactures for the first time three different model series at the same time – Focus, C-MAX and Kuga.