Edited sentence: Despite recent reports that the plant has been sold by Ford in response top their need for money, it will continue to supply transmissions to the company for the present.Since 1972 Blanquefort has been the location of a Ford transmission plant which occupies a 103 hectare site in the industrial zone.The plant was the result of an investment of 600 Million French Francs, expected to generate 2,000 jobs:  it was built initially to manufacture  Ford C3 automatic transmission units for Ford's European models with engine sizes from 1,300cc to 3,000 cc