Ford CEO: Donald Trump is wrong about Mexico

Chief Executive Mark Fields said Wednesday the auto maker will shift the production of its small cars from the U.S.to Mexico, a move aimed at "reinventing" Ford's small vehicle business and cutting costs to help boost profitability.

The issue surfaced again on Wednesday when a Ford executive, speaking at a conference for investors, reiterated the company's plans to move its small auto production to Mexico. Ford said at the time that the new plant is for small auto production but refused to confirm that the Focus and C-Max would would be the vehicles made there. The company cited Mexico's lower costs as the driving force behind the business decision.

Back in April, the company announced $2.5 billion in investments to construct a new plant in Mexico. It will make small cars there starting in 2018.

On Thursday, Fields also emphasized that Ford made a commitment last fall to invest $9 billion in US plants and create or retain more than 8,500 jobs as part of a new four-year contract with the UAW.

"You know, Poppy, it is really unfortunate when politics get in the way and the facts are: Ford's investment in the USA and commitment to American jobs has never been stronger", said Mark Fields, who took over the Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker in July 2014.

United States carmaker Ford has said it expects pre-tax profits to fall next year as it increases spending on projects such as self-driving and electric cars.

Fields reiterated the company's commitment to the US, noting Ford has added more than 28,000 jobs there in the last five years, and invested more than $12 billion.

Lower profit margins for small cars are an industry-wide issue, and have led to many automakers shifting manufacturing to lower-cost zones.

Ford did not give a precise figure for how much more profits could fall in 2017. "For years, we have thought about the thing and how many things we sold", Fields said.

Ford's move will likely provoke more criticism from Donald Trump. Workers at the plant are expected to continue to be employed as production there shifts to that of larger vehicles.

"We see huge social economic and environmental benefits", Fields said of the shift toward self-driving cars. That contract guarantees new vehicles for the Michigan-based plant as well as a $700 million deal that will preserve the plants current 3,924 jobs.

"The world is moving from simply owning vehicles to owning and sharing them".

That's a sea change in thinking for a company that until recently was mostly thought of as a builder of cars and trucks.

Ford says 30 vehicles are sold each minute in the USA, but 9 million miles are traveled.