Working under the One Ford strategy, the slowdown has certainly been a very good lesson for Ford as the company is now relying mostly on the best cost countries to make sure that it is able to stay afloat in the global marketplace.

In fact, the auto major has recently said that it will invest a whopping amount of $450 million in Thailand, with a view to build a new manufacturing plant, with the bulk of the output destined for export markets.

The company also mentioned that the plant will be used to cater to the expansion made in the APAC region in the past few years.

Joe Hinrichs, who heads Ford's operations in those regions, said that the new flexible plant is a true testimony of the commitment of Ford towards the APAC regions. Hinrichs also mentioned the fact that Thailand has and will continue to play as a global production and export base for Ford Motor Company.

It may be noted here that the new plant that is spread across 750,000 square metres (8.07 million sq ft), will have initial capacity of close to 150,000 units a year. Moreover, close to 85 per cent of its production will be utilized for markets outside Thailand.