CAMACARI, Brazil - Ford Motor Co plans to invest 2 billion reais ($1.15 billion) in Brazil through 2015, most of it on a plant in the northeastern Bahia state, to expand production and benefit from expected growth in Latin America's largest economy, the state governor said on BandNews radio on Friday.

As part of the investment plan, which will be officially unveiled in a ceremony with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva later on Friday, Brazil's government will extend state and federal tax breaks to Ford, Bahia state governor Jaques Wagner said on the radio.

A Ford spokeswoman in Brazil said the automaker would make no comment until the official ceremony at the company's Camacari plant starts at around noon (9 a.m. EST).

Ford is the fourth-largest automaker by sales in Brazil and ranks second in the United States, behind General Motors Co .

Brazil is a major market for global automakers such as Italy's Fiat, Germany's Volkswagen AG, U.S.-based GM and Ford. Asian and French manufacturers are also relying increasingly on Brazil to offset slumping sales at home. ($1=1.737 reais) (Reporting by Peter Murphy, Writing by Elzio Barreto; Editing

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