Ford Motor Co. (F:NYSE)

Ford Motor Co. announced the retirements of two senior executives in the Asia Pacific and Africa region and announced other key executive appointments to support the company's 'One Ford' transformation plan. John Parker, executive vice president, Asia Pacific and Africa, is retiring effective Jan. 1, 2010, after a 41-year career with the company. Parker, 62, joined Ford in South Africa and has held numerous senior leadership positions within Ford's Asia Pacific and Africa region, including the Southeast Asia region, South Africa, Taiwan, Australia and India. He also served as senior executive vice president, Mazda Motor Corporation. He has been Ford's senior leader for Asia Pacific and Africa since 2006, with responsibility for all Ford operations and partnerships in the region. Ford also announced that Phil Spender, Ford vice president and executive vice president, Mazda Motor Corporation, is retiring effective Jan. 1, 2010. Spender, 55, joined Ford New Zealand in 1975 before he moved on to senior manufacturing leadership roles at Ford Australia. He was instrumental in establishing operations at Ford India and automotive joint ventures across China. He led the transformation of the Ford Mazda joint venture, AutoAlliance International, in North America. In 2008, Spender was elected vice president of Ford and elected by Mazda as an executive vice president and representative director. Joe Hinrichs, 42, who is currently group vice president, Global Manufacturing and Labor Affairs, will succeed Parker as Ford's group vice president and president, Asia Pacific and Africa, and operate out of Shanghai, China. His appointment is effective Dec. 1, and he will work closely with Parker to ensure a smooth transaction. Hinrichs joined Ford in 2000 as plant manager of the Van Dyke Transmission Plant in Sterling Heights, Mich. John Fleming, 58, will add the role of Global Manufacturing and Labor Affairs to his current responsibilities as executive vice president and chairman and CEO, Ford of Europe, effective Dec. 1. Fleming will continue to be based in Cologne, Germany. Fleming joined Ford in 1967 at the company's Halewood facility and has an extensive background in manufacturing at Ford, having served in a number of management roles, including director of Global Manufacturing Engineering and New Model Programs, executive director of the U.S. Ford Stamping Business Unit and vice president, Manufacturing, Ford of Europe.

Ford Motor Co. is the first automaker to develop and use environmentally friendly wheat straw-reinforced plastic in a vehicle. The first application of the natural fiber-based plastic that contains 20% wheat straw bio-filler is on the 2010 Ford Flex's third-row interior storage bins. This application alone reduces petroleum usage by some £20,000 per year, reduces CO2 emissions by 30,000 pounds per year, and represents a smart, sustainable usage for wheat straw, the waste byproduct of wheat.

Ford Motor Co. launched a special edition of its mid-sized sedan Fiesta in India, priced at INR 0.644 million ($13,757)(ex-showroom, New Delhi). The new Ford Fiesta 1.6 ZXI will be available only in the petrol variant. The special edition of the car has been fitted with electronic brake-force distribution, stylised features and leather interiors.