Today Ford to hire 7,000 workers

NEW YORK in CNNMoney -- Ford Motor announced Monday it will add 7,000 new hourly and salaried jobs in the United States by the end of 2012.

The announcement, made on the opening day of the Detroit auto show, said Ford (F, Fortune 500) is adding nearly 4,000 hourly jobs at several of its U.S. plants this year, including 1,800 at the Louisville Assembly Plant, where it plans to start building the new design of the Ford Escape crossover SUV later in the years.

The company has cut staff substantially since 2001. And the new workers will only replace a fraction of the employees lost to the recession. Ford had 61,000 U.S. employees at the end of 2010, according to a company spokeswoman. That's down from 76,000 at the end of 2007, and 163,000 employees 10 years ago.

2011 In fast lane: Auto, car sales vroom 30% in May

NEW DELHI: New models and lower financing rates kept the momentum going for car sales that saw a healthy 30% growth in May. According to figures released by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam), car sales stood at 1.48 lakh units in May against 1.13 lakh units sold in the same month last year. The surge was led by strong performances by nearly all carmakers, including Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Hyundai, Mahindra & Mahindra, GM and Ford. As many as 14 of the 16 carmakers who report to Siam recorded gains.

Overall, automobile sales in the domestic market — including three wheelers and commercial vehicles — grew 30% in May at 12.08 lakh units against 9.29 lakh units in the same month last year. Exports of vehicles grew even faster at 49.5% — despite fears of a demand slowdown in Europe.

The demand curve has been so strong that many models, mostly the newer ones, enjoy a waiting list in the market. Queries have been more for some of the newer models like Maruti's Eeco, Ford's Figo, GM's Beat and Volkswagen's Polo. Companies have been investing heavily to boost production. While the revival in the economy has been one of the biggest booster factors behind the resurgence after a brief period of lull around late 2008 lower rates also helped.

Review All-new Ford Taurus named 2010 Saudi auto ‘car of the year’

Ford's most innovative sedan, the all new Taurus, has been voted Saudi Auto's 'Car of the Year' 2010.

Leading Arabic language automotive magazine Saudi Auto gives its 'Car of the Year' award to the most outstanding new car sold in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf markets, as voted by an independent jury of professional automotive journalists.

"This is quite a coup for Ford Taurus and we thank Saudi Auto and the members of its jury for recognizing our flagship sedan as its 2010 Car of the Year. This is the first major Award for the Taurus in the Middle East, but based on the car's ability to turn heads and win fans, we are sure it won't be the last," said Larry Prein, Ford Middle East's Managing director.