Boosting Innovation in China
In November 2017, Ford opened the Nanjing Test Center (NTC), which furthers product development and innovation in China. The NTC is our first China-based proving ground capable of fully testing new vehicles. A new on-site MakerSpace creative hub also offers a hands-on learning environment for employees to collaborate, brainstorm and develop prototypes.
Smarter, Safer Vehicles
Across the region, we are introducing Ford Co-Pilot360™, a suite of advanced driver assist technologies. The all-new Ford Focus will be the first vehicle in Asia Pacific to get the new features, which will be incorporated into most new vehicles sold in the region from 2019.
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Customers and Products
Read more about fuel economy, emissions, sustainable materials and driver safety.
Environmental Progress in Manufacturing Plants
Energy Efficiency
Our strategy is to improve energy efficiency at our manufacturing facilities and reduce facility greenhouse gas emissions. A number of initiatives are being implemented in Asia Pacific, including LED lighting and energy heat recovery, while building management systems to optimize operations have been implemented, or are planned in, over 60 percent of Ford facilities across the region.
In 2017, Ford Thailand Manufacturing installed more than 1,000 LED lights, reducing facility energy use by 630,000 kWh a year. We are on track to replace all traditional lighting on-site with efficient LED lighting over the next five years. And in China, one Changan Ford plant introduced a process to recover heat from paint ovens, reducing natural gas use by over 300,000 m3 a year.
Water Stewardship
In 2017, facilities in Asia used 17 percent less water per vehicle produced compared to 2015. In China, for example, Changan Ford’s plants reused 300,000 cubic meters of wastewater during 2017 – enough to fill 133 Olympic-sized swimming pools – and one plant reduced per-vehicle water use by 40 percent through water conservation measures such as pipeline maintenance and wastewater recycling.
100 Percent Recycled Water at Chennai
Like all our operations in India, the Chennai vehicle assembly and engine plant is a zero wastewater discharge plant, with 100 percent being reused in manufacturing processes. The facility also secures wastewater from external sources, including a nearby supplier park. Compared to 2010, water use has been reduced by around 40 percent, making it the best-performing plant for water conservation in the region.
Reducing VOC Emissions
In 2017, Ford reduced volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions by 6 percent compared to 2016, and by 30 percent since 2015. Across the region, the introduction of new technology in our paint shops is making a difference. For example:
- In China, Changan Ford plants are using abatement systems to treat paint exhaust, two of which have achieved best-in-class VOC emissions for Ford
- The Chennai assembly plant in India is installing an oxider to control VOC emissions from paint shop oven exhausts
- In Thailand, we have developed an innovative paint programming system that can reduce solvent use per vehicle by 70 percent
Zero Waste to Landfill
In 2017, 14 manufacturing plants in the region maintained their zero waste to landfill status through waste segregation, recycling and reusing, and by increasing the use of eco-friendly packaging.
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Operations
Discover how we’re reducing energy use and emissions at our facilities, managing water use and reducing waste to landfill.
Pursuing Emerging Opportunities in Mobility
Through several strategic partnerships, we are developing smarter vehicles for smarter cities, focusing on autonomous, electrified and connected vehicles to address the mobility needs of the future. These include:
An agreement with Alibaba Group to jointly explore connectivity, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, mobility services and digital marketing in China
Joining the Apollo open platform to promote the development of autonomous vehicles in China, and to understand the needs and opportunities of the local market
Collaborating with Datang Telecom Technology & Industry Group to test cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) technology
A feasibility study into integrated mobility services across multiple transport modes in the Indian cities of Mumbai, Indore and Hyderabad
A partnership with Jiangning Development Zone in Nanjing, China, to explore how a shuttle service could improve the district’s mass transit system
Community Development
Ford’s Operation Better World program seeks to provide assistance to our communities, and encourages employees to devote time to volunteering. Through the program, we provide a platform for organizations to protect the environment and strengthen communities by sharing ideas and resources. The following is a summary of our initiatives in the Asia Pacific region.
Thousands of volunteers participated in our Global Caring Month, from 803 employee volunteers contributing 2,551 service hours across 24 activities in China, to over 300 Ford of Australia employees giving around 2,400 hours of their time to good causes. Ford Volunteer Corps also launched a new volunteering program in China, with 73 volunteers from four departments taking part in 2017.
Since 2000, Conservation and Environmental Grants, China (CEGC) has awarded RMB 24.1 million ($3.6 million) in grants to 421 grassroots environmental NGOs and individuals across China to support their community initiatives and environmental programs. Since 2012, the Level UP! program has provided capacity-building training to more than 400 environmental nonprofits in China.
Ford of Australia provides funding and support to promote STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics) programs for students. Most recently, we set up a STEAM Hub at Northern Bay College in Geelong, running events and mentoring student teams in interschool science and technology-based competitions. In 2017, engineers from our nearby Product Design center contributed 1,048 hours to support STEAM projects, reaching 5,700 students directly and 1,600 indirectly.
Ford in India continues to work with NGOs across Chennai and Sanand to bridge the gap in primary school education. Reaching over 3,000 children across 40 schools, our work in 2017 resulted in lower dropout rates, increased enrollment and higher cognitive abilities among grade four and five students, as well as enhanced school facilities.
In Sri Lanka, Ford volunteers from Future Automobiles Ltd., together with World Vision Lanka, set up a mobile medical camp to support 400 underprivileged residents of Kattumurivu village. Employees from Lao Ford City in Laos also teamed up with World Vision, with 20 volunteers cleaning the grounds of Mahosot Hospital, and donating cleaning equipment.
We continue to help the communities hardest hit by Super Typhoon Haiyan, which struck Leyte in the Philippines in 2014, through an annual $10,000 grant from Ford Fund to development agency Gawad Kalinga. To date, Ford, together with volunteers from our Tacloban and Ormoc dealerships, has helped build eight clean water facilities benefiting more than 700 families. In 2017, we built three more in Nueva Ecija and Batangas, serving an additional 720 people.
