RMweb Gold beast66606 Posted July 26, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 26, 2013 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-23432322 Production is moving to Turkey, where costs are "significantly lower" than in western Europe, according to Ford. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xerces Fobe2 Posted July 26, 2013 Share Posted July 26, 2013 Another fowl move by a multinational company! XF Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivercider Posted July 26, 2013 Share Posted July 26, 2013 Have they still been dispatched by rail recently? Here are just a few of them:- Ford Transits were regular Speedlink traffic in the 1980s, 47367 approaches Basingstoke on the daily Eastleigh - Tees Speedlink, 11/4/83 cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted July 26, 2013 Share Posted July 26, 2013 Production is moving to Turkey, where costs are "significantly lower" than in western Europe, according to Ford. Quality too... Sounds like a bit of an own goal to me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium petethemole Posted July 26, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 26, 2013 Local press on the news: http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/10574575.Ford_officially_closes_for_good/ Pete Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruffalo Posted July 26, 2013 Share Posted July 26, 2013 As far as I am aware, Turkey is yet to become a full member of the EU so there would be some import tax ramifications for Ford of Europe. The "savings" therefore are perhaps more wishful at present. White van man could, of course, choose to buy something assembled in the UK, created in the Luton van plant which presently makes Vauxhall, Renault and Nissan competitors to the Transit I believe. Regrettably, the big fleet buyers will be offered big discounts to keep their purchasing contract with Ford and they are unlikely to buy with any patriotic pride, just the bottom line. I have long championed the idea that we should try to retain jobs in this country, not blithely accept the multi-nationals' endless search for greater profits whilst treating their customers and their workforce with considerable disdain. This is unfortunately an effect of globalisation - there will be fewer businesses generating money to purchase anything and growing numbers of people without work and dependant on hand-outs. In its heyday, Southampton's Transit plant employed around 14,000 I believe and yesterday it was less than 500. If I needed a transit style van today or in the future, I will certainly not buy a Ford. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xerces Fobe2 Posted July 26, 2013 Share Posted July 26, 2013 Big corporations effectively run most of the industrial the world now with politicians of all colours are powerless to stop this.either because they can't or they have a vested interest which they need protect at all cost! XF Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruffalo Posted July 26, 2013 Share Posted July 26, 2013 Big corporations effectively run most of the industrial the world now with politicians of all colours are powerless to stop this.either because they can't or they have a vested interest which they need protect at all cost! XF ... and politicians have my undying respect and trust! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 30801 Posted July 26, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 26, 2013 Quality too... Sounds like a bit of an own goal to me.SWMBO's Hyundai comes from Turkey. One of only two cars we've had that have never needed warranty work. (The other one's made in Korea) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete 75C Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 If anyone here has actually owned a Transit (I've owned several), they will know that since the 4th generation (the earliest I've ever owned), there have been numerous mechanical and quality control issues. Since 2007, I've owned Fiat vans produced in (yeah - you guessed) Turkey. Fiat also make the Doblo and Ducato in Vietnam and Russia. I've had two Fiat box vans and a couple of dropsides and the only issue after a combined 225000 miles was a seatbelt tensioner. Gruffalo won't buy a Ford van because they're no longer made in the UK. Ironically, I may in the future buy a Transit but only because they're no longer made in the UK. Don't call me unpatriotic - you just have to understand that when a vehicle is your livelihood, you need something that isn't going to fall apart every time it goes over a speed bump... Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 The new Transits are selling like the proverbial "Hot Cakes" in the USA - I wonder where they are made? I've never noticed the "Transit" brand being used by Ford before over here. Btw there is no inherent reason why Turkish production should be of weaker construction to European made. A lot of the German production lines are staffed by Turkish immigrants.....and have been for years. If they have a tendency to "fall apart" then that is a design issue. Best, Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xerces Fobe2 Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 My last Ford was a Mk1 Sierra estate the biggest pile of junk I have ever driven after that Ford have never really figured in my thinking when selecting a car. I have hired a few Mustangs in the USA which are fun however the build quality is not the best. In the end I if the Transit van from Turkey is of good quality and at n attractive price people in the UK will buy it as many of us are on very tight budgets these days. XF Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold tomparryharry Posted July 27, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 27, 2013 In fairness to Ford. I had a Sierra Mk1, 2 litre. Once you got used to how it was 'put together', then it wasn't a bad car. Servicing was 'top down'. That is, service from the bonnet, not the floor. An oil change was done in about 30 minutes, and a timing belt change in about 45 minutes, allowing for tea, etc. I bought mine with 89k on the clock, and I took it to 225k. One of my colleagues bought it for his daughter (so he said!) and put another 60k on the clock. Some 18 months later, the car was noticed on a local building site, where someone was taking the engine out, as it was 'a good un'... At about 350k, Original engine-I checked.... At the same time, I worked for an OEM plant, making wheels for Ford, Rover, GM, etc. Ford had one of the highest ISO quality programmes going. Something not lost on the people actually making the products. Knowing where the Southampton factory is, it's probably worth an awful lot of money to Ford. Just off the M27, striking distance of most south coast major cities & towns, with links to anywhere in the UK. If I was putting in a new plant & tooling, I'd take it to where there's no unions, and I can pay a pittance for the work (and, it would be good work, BTW). I'm surprised the Southampton plant lasted this long. Now, where was my Hornby 42xx made? Oh yes, I remember...... Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG John Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 My last Ford was a 1993 Escort estate, bought in 1994 and kept until 2007. The only time it let me down was when a fuse blew on the M4. The new fuse cost about 50p, and I saved many times that in petrol having it carried to my destination on the back of the recovery lorry! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold PhilH Posted July 27, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 27, 2013 Another possible part of the jigsaw is that although modernised inside the factory still substantially consists of the original building built in 1938 for the Cunliffe Owen aircraft company, including the iconic angled office block. I would doubt that a totally modern manufacturing environment could be satisfactorily created within these buildings designed as they were some 75 years ago. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium petethemole Posted July 27, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 27, 2013 I was under the impression that the 1938 part was listed but I've just checked and it's not. Apart from the area Ford are going to use for some new operations (not major) I reckon there will be a major conflict over its future between Economic Development and Housing (council depts) but most of the site will go for housing. Handiness to the motorways and railway (Southampton Airport Parkway is a 5 min walk) will sell. Pete Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold griffgriff Posted July 27, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 27, 2013 I'm sure thinks were going swimmingly when all this was planned but if I was just sitting down to think of places I would like to invest my money in I'm not sure Turkey would be near the top of the list http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22780773 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrushVeteran Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 I have been involved with fleet running of Ford Transit's since 1966 and they were always the 'best' choice for the arduous work and were capable of taking punishment from multi-driver abuse. I was also involved with stretched 20 seat minibus operation and apart from clutches and the odd gearbox the forty odd vehicles we ran were pretty robust, the 2.5 Di engine included. The problems began for us in 2004 when the dual-mass flywheel was introduced and unecessary electronics interferred with daily running simple faults which nearly always required main dealer attention. That became a further problem as main dealers in my area seemed to lack the expertese to put things right in a resonable timescale. In the end the MB won the day but I think these days you get what you pay for! It's sad though that another iconic product has to leave our land to be lost forever Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium OnTheBranchline Posted July 30, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 30, 2013 But what will the bank robbers use as a gateway car now? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xerces Fobe2 Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 But what will the bank robbers use as a gateway car now?They don't use getaway cars any more as they just sit in an office with a PC and phone and wear rather expensive suits now! That's progress! XF Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 I have been involved with fleet running of Ford Transit's since 1966.... I was also involved with stretched 20 seat minibus operation and apart from clutches and the odd gearbox the forty odd vehicles we ran were pretty robust, the 2.5 Di engine included.... As a student doing holiday work, I drove minibuses for a West End travel agent. They had two Transit buses, one LWB, the other SWB; both were diesels. I was once sent in the SWB from London to Dover to pick up suitcases which then had to be driven all the way to be reunited with a passenger in Wiltshire. The SWB proved surprisingly economical on fuel, but being a non-turbo it was gutless going uphill, and I had a few occasions where the speedo needle fell back as I struggled to climb the gradient! It was then I developed respect for HGV drivers! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Ron Ron Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 The final closure of Ford's Southampton Transit plant has been on the cards for 10 years or so. That's when production was first scaled down and production in Turkey began. There was quite a reduction in the workforce back then. However, Southampton was relatively lucky as it's had a stay of execution for 10 years and production has continued, albeit at a reduced rate; whereas the larger production line in Ghent, Belgium, was closed down completely and fully transferred to Turkey. I know someone who had the misfortune to be made redundant from the Southampton plant back then and it wasn't a pleasant time for his family, but he got another job and has done very well since. It's a rather more difficult time for those being made redundant today. . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PhilJ W Posted August 1, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 1, 2013 Do Fords produce any complete vehicles in Western Europe any more? Its no surprise that they are marketing the Transit in the States as they are even cutting back production over there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatB Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 I think Ford are undergoing a major global restructure. They're pulling out of Australia too, although that's no bad thing (if you don't actually work for them) as their local products are, how shall I put this, utter rubbish. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Ron Ron Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 Do Fords produce any complete vehicles in Western Europe any more? Yes, loads. Cologne, Germany - Fiesta Saarlois, Germany - Focus & Kuga Genk, Belgium - Mondeo, S-Max & Galaxy Valencia, Spain - Fiesta, Focus & C-Max In Eastern Europe (if Turkey is included)...... Craiova, Romania - B-Max & Transit Connect Russia - Focus & Mondeo Kocaeli, Turkey -Transit & Transit Connect The Genk factory in Belgium is due to close completely at the end of next year (2014), due to production overcapacity. The next generation Mondeo and its spin-offs (Galaxy & S-Max), will be built at Valencia, Spain. . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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