Ford has signed an agreement with the Romanian government for the purchase of the Craiova manufacturing plant.

Craiova is set to produce more than 300,000 vehicles a year after a E675m cash injection from the group.

Ford will pay Romania €57m for a 72.4% stake in the plant.

John Fleming, president and CEO at Ford of Europe, said: “We will work to transform the plant into an industry benchmark for vehicle manufacturing in Central Europe.”