Ford to invest $1.3B in Mexico plants to build 2013

Ford Motor Co will invest $1.3 billion in its stamping and assembly plant in the northern Mexican city of Hermosillo to help launch redesigned mid-sized sedans, creating 1,000 jobs, the company said on Friday. The automaker builds the Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ mid-sized sedans at the Hermosillo site. The Fusion and MKZ are being revamped for the 2013 model year. "This investment allows us to produce the all-new Ford Fusion and the Lincoln MKZ lineups, helping us to meet growing consumer demand," Mark Fields, Ford's president for the Americas, said at an event with Mexican President Felipe Calderon in Mexico City. Calderon said the investment would help Mexico edge up the list of the world's top auto exporters. The plant, which opened in 1986, already employs around 2,700 staff, according to the company's Web site. Ford, the No. 2 U.S. automaker, said in a statement that the new investment comes on top of $3 billion invested in Mexico over the past decade.