250,000th Russian built Ford Focus rolls off production line (RU)

Ford’s 250,000th Russian-built Focus rolled off the production line this week at the company’s plant in Vsevolozhsk, near St. Petersburg. The 250,000th model was a Moondust Silver 1.8 litre Focus Ghia wagon that will be delivered to a customer in Moscow. The Focus that is built in Russia in four body styles (3dr, 5dr, sedan and wagon) has been Russia's best-selling foreign car for the past five consecutive full years.

"We were the very first foreign manufacturer to open our own production facility in Russia and when the first locally-built Focus was built at Vsevolozhsk in 2002, the plant had an annual production capacity of 25,000 cars," said John Fleming, president and CEO, Ford of Europe.

"In order to keep pace with demand from customers in Russia, that figure has risen today to 75,000 units, and it will rise again to 125,000 units in 2009, when the Ford Mondeo will also be produced at the plant," he added.