Ford says that it is planning to transfer the bulk of its executives working on Asia, Pacific and African operations from Bangkok, Thailand, to Shanghai, China, in an effort to streamline its operations. The automaker will retain offices for the 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Bangkok, however.
“We will be moving functions and expertise to locations that best meet our business needs,” Ford spokesperson Whitney Foard Small told the Detroit News. “We are still studying the options available to determine which locations offer us the most efficiency and practicality.”
China is set to surpass the United States as the world’s largest automotive market. General Motors moved its Asian headquarters from Singapore to Shanghai about five years ago when it began to see sales take off in the Chinese market.
