The agreement whereby Ford Otosan, Europe’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, takes ownership of Ford’s Craiova plant has been successfully completed. With this agreement, Ford has transferred ownership of its Craiova plant, which produces vehicles and engines, to Ford Otosan, allowing the company to expand its operations internationally. This year, on 14 March, Ford announced that the Craiova plant will produce the new generation of the Courier model, both the Transit (freight) and Tourneo (passenger) variants, which will enter production in 2023, with an all-electric version from 2024. The Ford Puma, Ford’s best-selling passenger car in Europe, will also benefit from a fully electric version in 2024, to be produced at the Romanian plant. To support the launch of the next generation Courier, Ford Otosan today announces an EUR 490 million investment at its Craiova plant, to be implemented over the next three years. This will increase the total production capacity of the Craiova plant from 250,000 vehicles/year to 272,000 vehicles/year. Ford Otosan’s Craiova plant plays a key role in Ford’s electrification plans in Europe, and with this acquisition, the Romanian plant will benefit from Ford Otosan’s extensive experience and expertise in electrification, commercial vehicle design, engineering and manufacturing. Ford Otosan’s expertise and know-how in electrification, as seen in the recently launched flagship E-Transit model, will also be reflected in the electric vehicles that the company will produce in its Craiova plant. Ford also announces that, in the context of the transfer of ownership in Craiova, a new company – Ford Romania Services SRL – has been created to integrate the sales and marketing activities of Ford in Romania (National Sales Company), headed by Roxana Capata and Ford Business Solutions Center (FBS), headed by Dieter Rogmann. In addition, some additional European functions, such as Purchasing and Accounting Services, which operate from Craiova, will operate within Ford Romania Services.
Romanian prime minister Ilie Bolojan stated during an interview on Wednesday, December 17, that there should be no statute of limitations in cases of serious corruption. The statement comes after a Recorder investigation, which showed that several heads of the major institutions in the Romanian justice system allegedly delayed trials for years until wrongdoings were […]
President Nicușor Dan has challenged, before the Constitutional Court (CCR), the constitutionality of the law that requires that at least 40% of the athletes who play on a team in official national competitions be Romanian. Dan noted that the law violates the principle of non-discrimination and the free movement of workers, enshrined both in the […]
Craiova International Airport will open its new passenger terminal on Thursday, December 18, completing a major infrastructure investment aimed at significantly expanding capacity and improving air connectivity in southwestern Romania. It is part of a broader expansion and modernization project financed through the Large Infrastructure Operational Programme (POIM) 2014–2020, with a total value exceeding EUR […]
Romania is set to be connected to the Western European energy network thanks to grid investments worth EUR 30 billion. The funds will be provided by the EU by 2035, and the project will link Romania to Hungary and Austria in a joint project. Romanian energy minister Bogdan Ivan signaled the signing of the new […]
Franck Bagouet has been appointed managing director of TotalEnergies Marketing Romania SA and managing director of Automotive Southeast Europe Hub TotalEnergies Marketing. He succeeds Didier Grimault, who has accepted a new position within the TotalEnergies company. “I am glad to join this dynamic affiliate and confident that, together with our talented team, we will reinforce […]
Databricks, the data analytics and artificial intelligence company co-founded by Romanian professors Ion Stoica and Matei Zaharia, announced on Tuesday, December 16, that it is raising USD 4 billion in funding at a valuation of USD 134 billion, according to CNBC. The new valuation represents a 34% increase compared to the August round, when Databricks […]
