Ford has outlined the main elements of a small car strategy for North America based on the upcoming Focus and C-car platform which it believes will dramatically improve its profitability in the fast growing compact car segment.
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Ford expects the quality, fuel efficiency, smart technologies and shared global nature of its upcoming new Focus small car in North America and other derivatives built off a new global C-car platform to deliver a double-digit percentage profit improvement compared with today’s North American Focus.
Ford also announced that it is forming a new customer connectivity team to work on vehicle smart technology solutions that are increasingly important to small car customers, including Ford SYNC, SIRIUS Travel Link and Ford Work Solutions and HD radio.
Mark Fields, Ford’s president of The Americas, announced the latest details about the company’s accelerated transformation and plan to introduce several new fuel-efficient small cars during a speech at the Centre for Automotive Research’s annual Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, Mich.
“We at Ford see this year’s consumer shift to smaller vehicles as an opportunity and one that Ford is uniquely positioned to answer using the strength of our European small car lineup and our fast-moving global product plan,” said Mark Fields, executive vice president and president, The Americas. “We plan to answer the call with dynamic, fun-to-drive small cars – and we intend to make them profitably.”
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By GlobalDataFord says it is significantly accelerating small car development by leveraging global platforms that will deliver major savings through increased economies of scale.
Ford announced last month that it plans to bring six small vehicles from the company’s European lineup to North America by 2012. As part of this product plan, Ford will introduce the new Fiesta small car in North America in early 2010 and the new Ford Focus small car later in 2010.
Ford also is speeding the introduction of its fuel-efficient EcoBoost engine technology and four-cylinder engines, boosting hybrid production and converting three existing truck and SUV plants for small car production, with the first conversion beginning this December.
Ford already has shifted the balance of its North American product portfolio from a 70 percent emphasis on trucks and large SUVs in 2004, to nearly 60 percent cars and crossovers today. By the end of 2010, two-thirds of the company’s spending will be on cars and CUVs. Much of that investment is aimed squarely at small cars – particularly the C-segment in which Focus competes today.
Ford says small cars like the Focus account for one of every four vehicles sold around the world. By 2012, that number is expected to increase more than 20 percent to 6 million vehicles in North America and 25 million units worldwide.
Within five years, the company plans to build nearly 2 million units a year worldwide off its global C-platform and 1 million units off its global B-car platform.
Ford says it will build a profitable car business in North America by engineering and sourcing cars globally. For example, Ford is reducing complexity and streamlining the vehicle order process to make it far easier for customers to find the vehicles they want on dealer lots. Dealers will benefit from reduced inventory age, lowered floor plan costs, simplified vehicle orders and quicker days to turn, Ford maintains. The company gains engineering efficiencies, reduces build combinations, cuts prototype expenses, further drives quality improvements and creates volume opportunities.
“We’ve reduced the number of orderable combinations in North America – including series, packages and options – by 90 percent for the Ford brand alone in the 2008-2009 model years,” Fields said. “If you look at the C-segment, Focus will provide approximately 150 combinations by the 2010 model year – more than a 95 percent reduction versus the 2008 model year.”
Ford also announced it is dedicating a 40-person customer connectivity group to further enhance the driving experience for customers and ‘accelerate the company’s connectivity leadership’.
This new group will leverage Ford’s on-board technologies – including SYNC, SIRIUS Satellite radio, SIRIUS Travel Link, Ford Works Solutions and HD radio – to deliver information and services from the Internet ‘in a way that maximizes convenience and limits distractions’.
Ford has appointed Doug VanDagens, 50, to lead the team. He joined Ford in 1986 and most recently has been leading Ford’s electronic product development and business operations, which already has been working to bring industry-leading features such as SYNC and Travel Link to market.
In-vehicle connectivity is particularly important to small car customers, who want to downsize their vehicle but not their smart technologies or creature comforts.
“We’re making stylish, high-quality products to appeal a new breed of buyers,” Fields said. “Our small cars need to be more ambitious vehicles than ever, delivering style, perceived quality and appealing to lifestyle, not life stage.”
Ford says that one of the most influential groups of customers shopping the small car segment today – and considering possibilities for tomorrow – is the Millennials, the growing population of 14- to 29-year-olds. Approximately 11,000 of these tech-savvy consumers reach driving age every day. By 2010, this group will represent 28 percent of the driving population.
See also: US: Ford sets best-in-class quality target on small cars
