As it proceeds with plans to slash jobs and shutter factories in North America, Ford Motor is expanding aggressively in Asia, announcing Tuesday a $500 million investment to build a car plant in Thailand just two weeks after opening a $510 million manufacturing center in Nanjing, China. Both investments were made with Mazda, the profitable Japanese company that Ford controls through a 33.4 percent stake - a partnership that provides the troubled American carmaker with both cash and manufacturing expertise. "We're looking for profitable growth," said John Parker, Ford's executive vice president for Asia and Africa. "You have to put some foundations in place."
See "Ford Motor announces major expansion in Asia", Thomas Fuller, International Herald Tribune, October 8, 2007