Ford Kuga will be produced in USA

Dollar exchange rate falling under the relation in the European currency and presence of free capacities to the USA force company management Ford to transfer manufacture of cars from Europe to America. According to agency Bloomberg, crossover Ford Kuga becomes the first European model which will move for ocean, – in 2011 this car will start to assemble not in Germany, and in America in the State of Kentucky.

Simultaneously with it in the USA sale Kuga which could be bought till now only in the Old World will begin. Thus about 80 000 assembled in America Kuga will be then delivered to Europe. Certainly, from the point of view of logistics it is not too convenient, however, at the expense of lower cost price of manufacture of cars in the USA, it will be all the same more favourable, than to do cars in the Old World.

UPDATE: Ford Kuga SUV Official English Press Release

There’s no need to get excited or anything since, as we informed you last night when we got the German press release in our hands, Ford didn’t include any technical details on the Kuga. What it does contain though is comments from various Ford Europe Execs like CEO John Fleming and Executive Design Director Martin Smith. -Follow the jump to read the full English press release

FORD KUGA: A STYLISH, ALL-NEW ADDITION TO THE FORD RANGE FOR 2008

COLOGNE, July 19, 2007 – Ford of Europe's model range will have an all-new addition early in 2008 – The Ford Kuga. A preview model of the production vehicle will be presented to the press and public at the 2007 IAA Frankfurt Motor Show, which opens on September 13.

"With the launch of the Ford Kuga, we will keep the promise that we gave at the Paris Motor Show 2006: to develop a stylish new model based on the stunning Ford iosis X concept car in less than two years," said John Fleming, President and CEO, Ford of Europe.

Ford's European Design team has applied its exciting 'kinetic design' form language to introduce a compact and distinctive new 4x4 crossover to the Ford portfolio. "We recognised that image-conscious customers for this kind of vehicle want a very individual car in which impressive on-road capability blends seamlessly with substantial off-road ability," said Martin Smith, Executive Design Director for Ford of Europe.

"Kuga will stand out from the crowd by offering the visual excitement of 'kinetic design' and the on-road driving quality that customers of cars like the Ford Focus, the S-MAX and the new Mondeo have come to expect from us," added Smith.

The Ford design team is also releasing its first official styling sketch of the new model.

"Kuga is adventurous and distinctive, and we wanted to highlight this in our first official image," Stefan Lamm, Ford's Chief Designer for Exteriors, commented. "We believe that there is a role for a more athletic and charismatic vehicle that marks a departure from the norm, in the same way that the award-winning Ford S-MAX carved out new territory for an MPV."

The all-new Ford Kuga will go into production early in 2008 at Ford's Saarlouis plant in Germany. It will be launched across Europe from Spring 2008.

"I'm really excited that we are adding the Ford Kuga to our growing product range in Europe," said Fleming. "It represents the continuation of our design-led commitment to add emotion and desirability to our cars and we expect it to bring even more new customers to the blue oval brand as we continue our product-led transformation towards sustained business success."

Official: 2008 Ford Kuga Crossover To Premiere In Frankfurt Show

Continuing our “Frankfurt Show News Bulletin”, we managed to obtain the first official sketch along with the German press release on Ford’s highly anticipated mid-sized crossover model called Kuga. To put it simple, we’re talking about the production version of Ford’s Iosis X concept revealed at the Paris motor show last autumn. Evidently the Kuga’s styling is less dramatic than last year’s Iosis-X concept (see pics after the jump) but it still looks the part in our opinion. Of course we’re not overlooking the fact that this is a sketch and we all know that reality might be disappointing...

According to the press release the Kuga will be manufactured at Ford’s plant in Saarlouis, Germany which also produces the Focus and its MPV sibling, the C-MAX. Based on Ford’s mid-sized C1 platform (used on the Ford Focus / C-Max, Land Rover Freelander, Mazda3, Volvo S40 and V50), the Kuga will start its European career in early 2008 after appearing at the September Frankfurt Motor Show. The models that the Ford’s eyeing include the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4 even the Nissan Qashqai. -Continued: Click the article’s title or “Read More…” below

Sadly Ford avoided revealing any technical details in its teaser press release. However, we expect that the Kuga will be offered with 1.6-liter Duratec Ti-VCT and 2.0-litre Duratec petrol units delivering 125 and 140 Hp respectively along with the 1.8 and 2.0-liter Duratorq TDCi diesel units with an output of 125 and 140 Hp respectively. Maybe if we’re lucky, Ford might even add the ST’s 225Hp 2.5-liter turbocharged inline-5 into the range.

German Press Release (Translated via Google so don’t expect any wonders…)

PS: If any bloggers need the original German or French Press Release e-mail us here

The model family of Ford OF Europe is extended at the beginning of of 2008 with Ford the Kuga by a new member. A Preview model of the series vehicle is already shown the press and the public on the Frankfurt motor show, which opens its gates on 13 September.

“With the introduction Ford of the Kuga we hold our automobile salon Paris on that 2006 given promise to develop in less than two years a new, stylistic fastidious new model basis much of the considered Ford Iosis X Concept Cars”, explain John Fleming, president and CEO von Ford OF Europe. Of Ford European Design team has its trailblazing “Kinetic Design” - stylistic idiom to a compact and unmistakable 4x4-Crossover-Modell transfer, which will supplement the model offer of Ford in the coming year.

“We recognized that image-conscious customers in this segment expect a very individual vehicle, which convinces by perfect road qualities likewise as by impressing Offroad abilities” describe Ford OF Europe Executive Design Director Martin Smith the concept. “The Kuga is in this segment a Solitär, because the optically responding “Kinetic Design” finds its correspondence in a handling on the road, like it our customers of models like Ford the focus, which S-MAX and the new Mondeo already know and expect”, adds Smith.

Ford Design team publishes likewise the first official styling design of the new model. “The Kuga is a vehicle with strong signal effect, and which we wanted to communicate to Smith also in our first official picture”, commentate. “We are the conviction that the time for an athletic and charismatisches vehicle is ripe. The Kuga goes in the same way new ways like price-crowned Ford S-MAX, to that the MPV segment new terrain opened.”

New Ford Kuga at the beginning of of 2008 will go in the Ford work into Saarlouis into production and starting from spring 2008 with the European Ford dealers will be available. “I am pleased about the fact that we can extend our constantly growing model offer in Europe with Ford the Kuga”, explain Fleming. “The Kuga corresponds to our goal of lending to our models by independent Design of more Emotionalität and the status from desire objects to. In this way we want to win new customers for the vehicles with the oval blue Logo. With Ford the Kuga we order over a product, an important contribution for the lasting success of the mark Ford will carry out.”