Automotive giant Ford Motor Co. (F) Thursday said it intends to invest more than $773 million on new equipment and capacity expansions across six manufacturing facilities in southeast Michigan.
The investment is part of its commitment to invest $6.2 billion in the U.S. plants by 2015. The company said it has already started expansion work at several plants earlier this year to meet growing demand for fuel efficient vehicles and F-Series pickup trucks.
Ford Motor saw a 6.5 percent rise in its U.S. vehicle sales for the month of November, reflecting strong demand for its C-MAX Hybrids and its F-series pickups.
"These investments, many of which are already under way, will ensure our southeast Michigan manufacturing facilities can support our aggressive growth plans," said Jim Tetreault, Ford vice president of North America Manufacturing.
According to the company, the expansion in the Michigan facilities will result in creation of 2,350 new hourly jobs and allow it to retain an additional 3,240 hourly jobs. The 2,350 new positions are part of the 12,000 hourly jobs that Ford is adding across the U.S. by 2015.
Out of the $773 million in investment, $305 million will be spent on Dearborn Stamping Plant, and $161 million on Flat Rock Assembly.
Earlier this month, the company had announced that it would update software on its SE and SEL models of the 2013 Ford Escape and Ford Fusion models equipped with 1.6-liter engines in a bid to address potential engine overheating that could result in engine fires.
The move came after Ford recalled about 89,000 of the vehicles last month due to complaints about overheating and fires.
Last week, the company said the all-new Ford Fusion earned the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety or IIHS highest rating, a Top Safety Pick+, receiving an Acceptable rating in the new small overlap front crash test.
F closed Wednesday's regular trading session at $12.79, up $0.39 or 3.15 percent, on a volume of 140.33 million shares.
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