Ford is expanding its CUV lineup in Russia to meet rising demand by adding production of the Edge and EcoSport beginning next year.
“In addition to strengthening the Ford brand in Russia, production of these vehicles will create jobs and prosperity for the local community and help build a strong Russian auto industry for the future,” Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford says in a statement.
The EcoSport will be produced at the Ford Sollers’ joint-venture assembly plant in Naberezhnye Chelny, Tartarstan, while the Edge will be built at the JV facility in Elabuga, Tartarstan.
When it starts production next year, the Naberezhnye Chelny plant will be Ford Sollers’ third manufacturing facility. The JV already builds vehicles in Elabuga and Vsevolozhsk, Leningradskaya Oblast.
To accommodate production of the Edge and EcoSport, Ford Sollers will add 500 new jobs by the end of the year, bringing the total number of employees in Tartarstan to 2,500.
