The small MPV will be based on the Fiesta’s platform and is expected to bring many of the design cues seen on the Iosis Max concept, introduced at the 2009 Geneva Auto Show, to production.
The company will use a 400 million euro loan granted by the European Investment Bank (EIB) to manufacture the car. Romanian and EIB officials signed an agreement for a government guarantee of the loan in Bucharest.
"We hope that, by guaranteeing the loan, we can offer additional support for Ford's plant in Craiova and the company's investment in Romania," Prime Minister Emil Boc said at the signing ceremony.
Ford already produces the Transit connect small commercial vehicle at Craiova since September 2009. The company became the main shareholder in the plant after buying a 72.4 percent stake from the Romanian state. Ford later increased this stake to over 90 percent.
Romanian Finance Minister Sebastian Vladescu expressed his hope that the EIB loan would allow Ford to produce 250,000 car annually in the near future.
Ford had previously announced that it would produce small EcoBoost gasoline downsized engine at Craiova, but no further official details have been released on this matter. The B-max is expected to be powered by a new generation of small capacity Ford turbo petrol engines - 1.0 liter with power outputs ranging from 90 HP to 110 HP. Maybe these units will be the ones manufactured at Craiova.
MPVs, regardless of their size, have a very small market share on the Romanian market, so it is obvious that most of the B-Max-s production will be exported.
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