Ford CEO Mulally has a busy week in China. On Monday, he announced Lincoln models would land en masse in China in the second half of 2014, and laid foundation for a new vehicle factory in Chongqing. Then he flew to Hangzhou and attended the ground-breaking ceremony for another new factory. And all these came with the news that the long-awaited separation of Changan-Ford-Mazda (into Chang-Ford and Changan-Mazda) finally got the government’s approval.

The expansion in Chongqing, where Changan-Ford is based, will see a third Ford passenger car factory built at a cost of nearly US$600 million. The new factory is designed to churn out 350,000 cars a year. The existing two Chongqing factories have a combined capacity of 600,000. At the same time, in the city Ford is building plants that can produce 800,000 engines and 1 million gearboxes a year.

The pic: Mulally speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony in Hangzhou

The Hangzhou factory, with a designed capacity of 250,000, is expected to start rolling out middle-level or high-end Ford cars in 2015. Investment in it amounts to US$760 million. The product line is presently unknown, although rumor has it that it will feature Lincoln models. Mulally said on Monday that Chinese production of Ford’s luxury cars would be considered if local demand grew large enough. 

The radical expansion in production matches Changan-Ford’s plan to launch up to seven new cars: EcoSport mini SUV, Kuga compact crossover SUV, Ka supermini hatchback, B-Max MPV, and three new-generation models–S-Max, Mondeo, and Fiesta.

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