Mexico City 4 Jan (ANA) - Ford has said it will cancel a $ 1.6bn (£ 1.3bn) plant it planned to build in Mexico and instead extend operations at its factory in Michigan.

The US car giant will spend $700m on expanding the plant at Flat Rock. Ford boss Mark Fields said the decision was partly due to falling sales of small cars and partly a "vote of confidence" in Donald Trump's policies. The President-elect has criticised both Ford and its rival General Motors over production of models in Mexico. Mr Trump earlier on Tuesday tweeted criticism of GM's production of its Chevy Cruze model in Mexico. Ford's chief executive, Mark Fields, told the BBC that the main decision to cancel the plant in Mexico was because of a "dramatic decline for the demand for small cars here in North America," allowing the company to cope with its existing plant. But he said another factor in the decision was the "more favourable US business environment that we see under President-elect Trump and some of the pro-growth policies that he's been talking about". "That did play a part and it's a vote of confidence that he can deliver on these things," Mr Fields added. Ford is not abandoning production completely in Mexico, but is switching production of its Focus model to its existing plant in Hermosillo there to improve profitability. It makes the current version at its plant in Wayne in Michigan. Production at that facility will switch to two new models, which it says will safeguard 3,500 US jobs. The planned $1.6bn plant in Mexico was to be built in San Luis Potosi, but Ford said it would now invest some of that sum in Flat Rock, creating 700 jobs building a range of electric cars. Mexico's economy ministry said it regretted Ford's decision, adding that it had assurances that the US car firm would pay the state of San Luis Potosi for any costs incurred from the cancellation.(ANA)

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