DETROIT — Many questions are being raised by the idea of building the Ford Ranger compact pickup in suburban Detroit later this decade.
It is an idea making its rounds in the media and rumor mill as the UAW union negotiates a new master agreement with For,d as well as General Motors and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. The current four-year contract expires Sept. 14 and the key negotiating topics include wages, health care costs, and commitment to future products and jobs.
In Ford talks, the Michigan Assembly Plant in the Detroit suburb of Wayne is front and center.
Ford has been criticized for its decision to move production of the Focus compact car, Focus electric car and C-Max hybrid and C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid out of Michigan Assembly in 2018. Many have speculated the work will move to Mexico, where labor rates are lower.
Ford has said it will not close the plant, which employs about 4,000 workers, and that it will build future, unidentified products there, which makes it an issue during current negotiations.
“We will move production of the next-generation Ford Focus and C-Max, which currently are built at Michigan Assembly Plant, beginning in 2018. We actively are pursuing future vehicle alternatives to produce at Michigan Assembly and will discuss this issue with UAW leadership as part of the upcoming negotiations,” Ford spokeswoman Kristina Adamski said in a statement in response to a Detroit News article that said the Ranger is one of the products under consideration.
The UAW declined to comment.
At this early point in the talks, a lot of product names are being bandied about as potential new products for Michigan Assembly, although few automotive forecasters saw the Ranger making a return to the North American market — or at least not during the foreseeable future and perhaps not even during the term of the next contract.
And the Ranger, being a body-on-frame truck, may not make as much sense as a car-based model because it would require more tear-up of the plant to build, including a new body shop. It becomes more feasible if Ford were to also bring back to the U.S. the Bronco, a truck-based SUV, an idea that is resurrected almost annually and is said to also be under consideration again.
And while the Ranger is a global vehicle, the current model was not designed with the U.S. market in mind, so some engineering would be required to equip it to meet U.S. standards. The supply base would have to be re-established and dealers would have to prepare to sell and service the smaller truck again.