Ford announced late last year that the company would commence local production of the Focus small car at the Broadmeadows plant in 2010. The way that message was sold at the time suggested that the Focus would merely soak up the extra plant capacity to keep Falcon and Territory production alive in Australia.

But Ford Australia is beginning to sound like there are bigger plans for Focus than a piecemeal money-spinner to help pad out the balance sheet. Indeed, according to insiders, the company doesn't see the Focus as just a means to tread water financially, it's planning to develop new business, even beyond increased domestic sales in the small car segment and exports to nearby regional markets.

In Europe, the Focus provides the platform for vehicles such as the C-Max mini peoplemover and the Kuga compact SUV. It's these variants (and others yet to be announced) that now appear key to a stable and prosperous future for Ford's local manufacturing infrastructure.

Given Australians' strong interest in SUVs, particularly compact variants, the Kuga would appear to be a sensible choice to join Focus on the Aussie production line... There's even a turbocharged five-cylinder model mooted for production -- the perfect counter-move to Toyota's RAV4 V6. 

Kuga would give Ford a lift in the compact SUV segment, where the Mazda-built Escape is struggling currently. In the short term, Ford is going to have to do something about the Escape's slow sales (more here) and Ford has no plans immediately to build the Kuga here. That's not to say that the car couldn't be imported in anticipation of local production down the track.

The Carsales Network discussed this with Ford Australia's Manager Public Affairs, Sinead McAlary.

"[The Escape] is an old vehicle," she admitted.

"And we don't market it a lot either. A lot of people don't know it's there, to be blunt. It hasn't been a priority for us.

"We would really like to have [the Kuga]. The capacity is the main thing. And that's why... if other markets in the region want it as well, then we have more leveraging power with Ford of Europe, rather than just Ford Australia by ourselves.

We put the proposition to her that the production shortfall could be overcome by building the Kuga in Australia.

"Make it ourselves? Gee, that's an idea," she laughed.

"Well, once we change the plant over and the plant is suitable to produce Focus, a whole range of opportunities open up for us.

"Now we have no plans to build this in Australia, but things become much more likely -- and that is our goal, to build more vehicles in Australia and not less."

It's not like this is some Australian backroom pipedream either. McAlary's boss, global VP of marketing and communications, James Farley is right behind the idea of expanding C-segment car production at Ford Australia beyond the Focus.

"The one thing that excites me about Australia," Farley says, "is that's a place where we could experiment with upper body architecture".

Farley doesn't say so in as many words, but with Ford Australia's well developed R&D facilities and experience with the Indian B Car, the local arm would be well placed to develop and produce unique Focus variants for global markets -- light commercial vehicles, for example.

Ford talks quite a lot about platforms (the floorpan and underpinnings of a car) and 'top hat' architecture (the roof, pillars and external panels) in connection with the Focus and Focus derivatives such as the C-Max and Kuga. Farley, along with pretty much everyone else at Ford, has noted that the growth area in global sales lies in B and C segment cars -- what we would call light and small cars (Fiesta and Focus, respectively).

By 2013, Ford expects the global market to be composed in roughly equal parts large, medium and small cars, whereas small cars accounted for 22 per cent of sales in 2007. In other words, five years from now, the small car market around the world is expected to increase in size by approximately 50 per cent.

"If you want to be a world global player, you need to think about your upper body silhouettes in the C segment," says Farley, addressing that forecast.

Ford's global aim is to build as many 'top hat' variants or 'silhouettes' -- to use Farley's term -- on as few platforms as possible.

The Focus is a flexible platform and Broadmeadows (Falcon, Territory and Focus-family built in the same plant) will be a flexible production line. Thus Ford Australia is ideally placed to take advantage of the new regime under Ford CEO Alan Mullaly and Product Development VP, Derrick Kuzak -- provided those regional export markets materialise.

Interestingly, outgoing local chief, Bill Osbourne, placed the sign-off of a new business plan for Ford Australia on the 'most important achievements' list of his short tenure Down Under. Could this plan include building Kuga and C-Max for the Asia Pacific market? We wouldn't bet against it...

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