MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Ford shipped out its first batch of cars from the once-ignored Guaymas port near its plant in the northern Mexican state of Sonora on Tuesday, in a project that, if fully launched, could cut its logistics costs by 30%.

The initial shipment of pick-ups and Broncos, headed for Chile, is part of a broader re-vamp of the Guaymas port, an infrastructure project headed by outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

Ford has long been sending its autos nearly 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles) over land from Hermosillo to the port of Lazaro Cardenas, in the state of Michoacan, Sonora Governor Alfonso Durazo said in an interview.

Durazo described the long haul as a "logistical tragedy" that could easily be fixed by moving shipping to the Guaymas port.