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FoMoCo has cut its capital costs for vehicle-building equipment and factories by 50 percent over the past two years. According to Ford’s executive director of manufacturing engineering Bruce Hettle, Ford achieved the cut by standardizing manufacturing processes globally, reports Automotive News.

Hettle said that the new Ford Fiesta compact car is the best example of the company’s global process. He said that the assembly plants for building the Fiesta in China and Mexico are exactly the same. They have identical assembly lines, body shops and paint shops.

“We’re starting to get the value from our global scale,” he said.

Hettle went on to say that when Ford’s Michigan Assembly in Detroit begins production of a new compact-vehicle, it will have the same layout and equipment as the Fiesta plants.

First Drive: 2010 Ford Fiesta:

- By: Kap Shah

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