Just as Ford is trying to shed some of its luxury brands, the company submitted the only bid for Daewoo Craiova, a Romanian automaker and factory once tied to Daewoo, a formerly Korean brand now owned by General Motors.
What seems like an odd move for Ford could net the blue oval an eastern European production facility and access to emerging markets in Europe and Asia. Ford hasn’t had good access to markets like Romania, where even the least expensive Western European Ford car is noticeably more expensive than the Renault-built Dacias that are assembled in Romania.
Now that Romania is a member of the European Union, the country is quickly becoming a hotbed for inexpensive vehicle production. Automotive News reports that Ford was the only company to submit a bid for Daewoo Craiova, which has been under ownership by the Romanian government since last year. Romania wants to sell 72.4 percent of Daewoo Craiova.
The factory had been owned by Daewoo Motors, a Korean carmaker that was mostly bought up by General Motors in 2001. But when GM bought up most of Daewoo to form GM Daewoo, the General passed on the Romanian plant.
