Ford is buying a majority share in a car plant at Craiova, Romania. The plant is expected to become one of its biggest plants in the European Union. The factory was previously operated by Daewoo of Korea.

John Fleming, president of Ford of Europe, said last week that its due diligence had been completed and a price agreed

The factory, which started life making versions of Citroën cars and was taken over by Daewoo in 1994, has a capacity of 300,000 cars a year and the attraction for Ford is that it can make engines and transmissions as well as cars and has a fully trained workforce.

The size of the bid has not been declared but Ford is expected to invest €675m (£457m) in the factory.

Fleming said it would take 12 to 15 months from completion of the sales agreement to adapt the plant to produce a series of Ford models.

Carmakers are flocking to Romania to take advantage of labour rates.

Lufthansa’s passengers in the UK will have a choice of three destinations in Romania from 1 September 2007, with the start of a new service to Sibiu. The German flag carrier will serve the Romanian city five times a week (increasing to a daily service from 28th October) with quick and easy connections through its Munich hub.

The addition of Sibiu, Lufthansa’s third Romanian destination after Bucharest and Timisoara, will increase the number of weekly flights to Romania from 66 to 71 (73 as of 28th October) and will further enhance the airline’s Central & Eastern Europe schedule, which will then comprise of 360 flights per week to 22 destinations.

“Sibiu is one of the fastest growing markets in Romania. For UK business travellers in particular, Lufthansa is thus offering yet another flight connection to an important growth region in Central & Eastern Europe,” commented Marianne Sammann, Lufthansa’s General Manager, UK & Ireland.

With its extended catchment area, the Transylvanian city of Sibiu has a population of more than five million. Since Romania joined the European Union in 2007, its economy has expanded significantly and the country conducts most of its foreign trade with the European Union.

Numerous firms in the engineering and plant manufacturing sector, the textile industry, the construction industry as well as the chemical and pharmaceutical sector are now established in the Transylvanian region.

Furthermore, Sibiu is also a major tourist attraction: the mediaeval city in the foothills of the Southern Carpathian Mountains is one of the two European Capitals of Culture in 2007.