Romania

Huf announced the official inauguration of a factory expansion in Arad, Romania. In Arad, Huf manufactures mechanical and electronic components for Mercedes, BMW, Dacia, Volvo, Stellantis and VW. The production portfolio includes plastic injection molding and the assembly of door handles, bearing brackets, kick sensors, locking sets and fuel filler caps. All regular quality tests for OEM series products in Europe are bundled in the newly established Requalification Center in Arad. 114 new employees have already been hired for the ramp-up of the additional production lines, which are now fully operational. This increased the number of Huf employees in Arad to almost 500, including the team from European Requalification Center. In addition, The development and test center in Timisoara is also to be expanded in order to fulfill its role as a global hub for software and hardware development at Huf. The teams work on projects for customers such as Audi, BMW, Ford, GM and Stellantis and develop passive access systems, kick sensors and innovative solutions for vehicle access like "Phone as a Key". (From a press release on September 23, 2021)

On September 9, Ford Motor Co. confirmed that it will end sales of the EcoSport sub compact crossover in the U.S. after announcing that it would end manufacturing operations in India.
The EcoSport will be built in Chennai through the end of 2021, but remain on sale in the U.S. through mid-2022.
The EcoSport will remain in the European marketplace, however, being produced at its Craiova, Romania with no plans to stop, according to Ford spokesman Said Deep.
The EcoSpport entered the U.S. market at the end of 2017, when it sold 24 units, to further sell 54,348 units in 2018, 67,708 units in 2019 and 60,544 units in 2020, though sales dipped 22% in the first 8 months of 2021 compared to the previous year ago.
Ford had not changed the EcoSport since first importing it from India, and has no present plans to replace the sub compact crossover in the U.S. lineup.
The new Maverick pickup truck, built in Hermosillo, Mexico, with a similar USD 20,000 price tag to the EcoSport, will now become the company’s price leader in the U.S.

(Detroit Free Press article on September 9, 2021)

Bosch Group inaugurated the third production hall within the car electronic components factory in Cluj. The total investment in the new production unit amounts to EUR 55 million. The new building has a total built area of 34,500 square meters. The factory in Cluj currently employs over 3,100 employees and this number is expected to increase. The new production hall allows the manufacture of high-quality electronic control units for electric vehicles. Bosch has implemented various energy efficiency projects in its production unit in Cluj. The production unit also uses Mixed Reality solutions, which combine the real world with virtual reality, such as smart glasses that allow the user to see and interact with a remote production line. In addition, Bosch has introduced autonomous and automated robots in the factory in Cluj to deliver the necessary raw materials and tools to the production lines. (From a press release on September 2, 2021)