Ford Motor Co. Chairman Bill Ford Jr. said the U.S. car maker should be celebrated for the thousands of U.S. jobs it has created in recent years, not criticized for looking to build cars in Mexico.

Mr. Ford, speaking at a conference near Detroit Thursday, said assertions made recently by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump that Ford is moving small-car production to Mexico at the expense of U.S. factory jobs are "wrong" and misguided.

The Dearborn, Mich., auto maker is "as American as you can get", the chairman said, adding that it has made hefty investment in its U.S. factories since rebounding from a near collapse during the Great Recession.

"We are everything that he should be celebrating about this country," Mr. Ford told reporters, adding that he knows Mr. Trump and the candidate is aware of his views.

His comments are the latest in a series of rebukes by Ford executives in recent weeks to Mr. Trump's criticisms. Mr. Ford, along with Chief Executive Mark Fields, have repeatedly said Mr. Trump's claims are inaccurate and the car company, while relocating production of the Michigan-built Ford Focus compact car to Mexico in 2018, will fill the assembly plant with another model and "zero" jobs will be lost.

Ford confirmed earlier this year it would built a $1.6 billion factory in Mexico, building on a wave of new auto investment flowing from the U.S. to south of the border.

Write to Christina Rogers at christina.rogers@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 29, 2016 16:05 ET (20:05 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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