Jump to content

FCA US reports March sales up 14%


Anthony

Recommended Posts

Some of Ford's tardiness is tied to the their limited production flexibility and the lifecycle of their global platforms and products. Some things just didn't time out very well for them because they can't build anything new until they've developed their next generation of platforms and technologies. And Ford was stuck launching product right when the market was making a major shift in another direction they didn't adequately plan for. Even if Ford is late, they typically arrive efficiently and well prepared. Ford still has their profit priorities in check however with their focus on Trucks and midsize utilities. Ford seems far less interested in selling lots of inexpensive vehicles if they can sell lots of expensive ones. Ford is still going through a major customer culling as they exit many of these lower priority volume sedan segments. But GM and Jeep are proof you can more than replace those customers with the right utilities, and even if Ford failed to transition those customers, the company grew in other segments to make up for it. Everything still seems well mapped out even with the product holes.

Edited by Assimilator
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Convince me.

 

See post #11.

 

Ford had the Bronco concept nailed in 2004. Should have gone ALL-IN right there with "cool factor' and real off-road capability. After market would have gone nuts and would be red hot today!. Ford was behind in engine development but new engines and transmissions were on the way, could have just used what they had at the time 3.0 Duratec or 4.0 SOHC which were both reliable if nothing else. Jeep was way behind in engine development back then also, but it didn't stop them from building customer base focusing on what was good about the Wrangler. Had Ford gone all in and paid attention to the trend, they would be leading now instead of playing catch-up. Now Ford just blends in with all the dozens of choices in CUVs right in the middle of the pack. Worse yet, the vehicles Ford spent money on developing in the mid 00's, instead of the Bronco, there is all this talk of being dis-continued, Taurus, Fiesta, Flex...ouch! Mistakes happen, let's hope they learned this time.

Edited by Kev-Mo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ford seems far less interested in selling lots of inexpensive vehicles if they can sell LESS of expensive ones.

Then we certainly can't complain when the majority of the working middle class and especially the millennial generation does not even consider or shop Ford.

 

And I fixed that for you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

No shit Sherlock!

 

 

Hmmmm - what's up with that???

 

Post # 11(not my post) explains Jeep (niche) brand outsold all for Ford's SUV/CUV lineup. Granted it is one data point, but wouldn't we all agree that is a bit of a concern? Jeep is trending up and Ford is trending flat at best. Could this not be described as Ford getting beat up in an area that is considered Ford's strength? And a plausible reason for this is Jeep is far more appealing to younger buyers. These five sentences do not deserve a comment like your response. It is certainly a valid talking point. You asked to be convinced, I guess that translates to: your mind is already made up and you are right and everyone else is wrong.

 

And, Jeep gets some hefty cash for a lot of their stuff so the "high transactions prices" is not an argument. Along with the big $$ items they have some affordable offerings that appeal to folks that have to consider a less expensive vehicle. Which is really working for them.

Edited by Kev-Mo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I’m asking for some reasoning that this presents a huge problem for Ford in the future.

 

Jeep ONLY SELLS Wranglers and unibody utilities. Of course they’re going to concentrate on that. Ford has other models to take care of like F series and Transit.

 

Ford has no competitor to Wrangler yet, so how did Ford do with it’s crossovers and SUVs against Jeep’s non-Wrangler sales?

 

Of course Ford is behind with several utility projects. Explorer is a couple of years late. Bronco and baby bronco are also a couple of years later than they should have been along with Ranger. Ecosport is late and not all that appealing in current form.

 

What is Jeep going to do when Ford has an entire lineup of hybrid utilities from Explorer to Escape to Ecosport and whatever is in between those last two? And a Bronco? And a new Explorer that should be just as capable as the Grand Cherokee?

 

And how many of those small Jeep utility sales were based strictly on price? Those aren’t loyal Jeep buyers. If the new Ecosport, baby bronco, escape and short C utility (if that’s not baby bronco) are done right they’ll be just fine.

 

Everybody says Ford is in trouble because they’re late to the party, but as long as they get the products out as promised they’ll be just fine. And they’ll still have F series, superduty, transit and transit connect plus Focus and Mustang. Hybrid F150 and Mustang. PHEV Aviator plus other new Lincolns.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Everybody says Ford is in trouble because they’re late to the party, but as long as they get the products out as promised they’ll be just fine.

 

Ford employees, dealers, investors, and customers are counting on Jim Hackett's leadership to make that happen. I think he will succeed. If he doesn't, Ford as a company won't last much longer.

Edited by rperez817
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Ford employees, dealers, investors, and customers are counting on Jim Hackett's leadership to make that happen. I think he will succeed. If he doesn't, Ford as a company won't last much longer.

That's not entirely accurate.

Ford continues to make good profits on the back of strong F Series sales, the important part

is to broaden that profit to include more mid size and large products (Ranger and Utilities)

Automation and electrification are pet projects that rely on funding from the above, nothing more.

 

The important part for Hackett is to keep Ford pushing and reaching and not let it go off the boil like Fields did.

Edited by jpd80
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's even worse long term - Jeep is garbage from a quality standpoint. Never got the love for Jeep. They are quite unreliable (going back to the late 90s) and all about "image". As soon as the heaps leave those "millennials" stranded they will look elsewhere.

17_vds_chart_1.jpg

Edited by itguy09
Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you stop and think about those statistics, the industry average is 1.5 problems per vehicle. Jeep is at 2 problems per vehicle. Lexus and Porsche are at 1 problems per vehicle.

 

Statistically speaking that’s not as big of a difference as the ranking implies.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

They have ignored them. Way late to the party! Too slow to bring new product! Jeep Scrambler will be out before the Bronco! And these loyal customers are just going to run to Ford after a decade or more of being ignored?

 

As I previously stated: Maybe this 'Baby Bronco' will help, but it better be cool and AFFORDABLE for the young buyers. Truthfully, it is way late to the party, Jeep, Subaru and Toyota has a firm grasp on this generation and their designs and amount of product offerings don't seem to taking the customers lightly to let Ford steal them with one potential product.

Im not convinced your generation has that kind of loyalty to a brand. I think there is still opportunity there. I dont disagree that the product has to have the right appeal and price though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's going to be a complicated 2-year period because the F-Series is facing stiff competition for the first time in a LONG time which might level off sales and profits on that franchise, along with the decline/demise of several volume car products. But Ford is plugging some holes at the same time with Ranger, EcoSport, Bronco and the BADLY overdue NG Escape, Explorer, and Small Utility (Maverick). Ford is going to have a much harder time in the small utility segments for quite a few more years with the weakness of EcoSport and the more specialized nature of the rugged Maverick, it may take another generation of products to get that sorted out in the same way that GM and Jeep have at this point, but growth is coming regardless.

 

Ford is still growing it's business in other higher margin areas but hopefully we'll see Ford sales increasing by 2020 after what I'm sure will be a 2 year transition period.

Edited by Assimilator
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Im not convinced your generation has that kind of loyalty to a brand. I think there is still opportunity there. I dont disagree that the product has to have the right appeal and price though.

My Generation? I am almost 60 years old! I will be buying a Ford again soon, and won't even shop other brands.

It's all the young folks around me that can't stop bragging about how much they love Jeep.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jeep has the image, but how's the quality?

Image vs. Quality - I can't figure it out! Somehow when you are as cool as Jeep you don't need to be that good. And look at Subaru - hoovering right at average! Yet every single person who buys one insists they are buying because of quality and reliability. I am glad I am not trying to figure this out from a business standpoint!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...