Ford's hybrid momentum showing signs of slowing
During its Super Bowl marketing blitz, Ford made a big deal of its new association with Kermit the Frog, who in the course of his advertising duties experienced a change of heart, proclaiming : "I guess it is easy being green."
But Jim Henson's trademark amphibian may have had it right the first time. High profile market introductions and Muppet pitchfrogs aside, the Blue Oval is struggling with its hybrid initiative, and recently doubled its incentives on its green-tinged SUVs to $1,000. Though it remains early in the year, at its present clip, Ford is only selling about half its hybrid capacity and waiting lists have dwindled to zero -- a marked change from foreign competitors at Toyota and Honda.
[Source: Dow Jones via Morningstar.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Richard Warren 7:20AM (3/07/2006)
An interesting story along hybrid lines this morning:
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/14037080.htm?source=yahoodist&content=sjm_news
Nope not easy being green, also, the portion on repair costs is interesting
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Daddy-O 7:23AM (3/07/2006)
...come on ford... who still wants a hybrid SUV when you can get a hybrid car with more gas mileage. now maybe if the fusion was a hybrid...
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n8 7:41AM (3/07/2006)
I am surprise by the lack of interest in the Escape hybrid. I would think that this would have been a hit (I know that it's on my list of possible choices). Maybe it's trying to split the difference - not appealing to hybrid types because it's an SUV, and not appealing to SUV types because it's a small. Or maybe there are quality, capability, or cost issues that I haven't heard about. Anyone care to enlighten me?
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John 7:48AM (3/07/2006)
I agree with the comment made in the article - the ones willing to spend the extra dimes on a hybrid Ford have already done so - and unless Ford shifts how it is marketing their hybrids, they're not going to attract new buyers.
I think it boils down to that the hybrid Escape/Mariner are not "cool" to own. With the Prius, you have a bunch of celebrities and musicians tooling around and talking about how important it is for each of us to do their part in making sure the Patagonian Rainforest and Australian Dung Beetle get clean air to live in. Then all the pedestrian (but still somewhat wealthy) Prius owners rave all day about how much fun they have in their Prius; how quiet the ride is; how they've incorporated the Prius in their eco-friendly recycling and compost-heap initiatives; etc.
I haven't heard anybody (that is, anyone who was sober) talk about how they think the Ford Escape exceeded expectations and is a novel car to own. No word-of-mouth is going on to make anyone feel like purchasing an Escape will save Balkan Peony's from wilted petals. And most damning is that no "eco-celebs" have made a point to let the world know how much they love their Hybrid Ford.
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Hank 8:01AM (3/07/2006)
Methinks this doesn't bode well for the Saturn Vue Hybrid. I think it probably is the premium price, and the lack of novelty. Honda was behind Toyota in part because the Civic/Accord hybrids didn't stand out like the Prius. This suffers the same image problem (and so does the Vue). There's no "designer label" look to set it apart, and the Prius seems as big inside as the Escape.
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Sgt. Hulka 8:10AM (3/07/2006)
Let's face it, the purchase of a Prius is a political one. You're not just buying a car to save fuel, you're buying a car to save fuel AND to make gawdam sure that the rest of the world knows it. An Escape buyer comes into a dealership with less of the passion to make a statement but with more of a desire for utlity. Just my humble opinion.
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Car-la 8:23AM (3/07/2006)
n8: The Lexus RX400h is also an SUV, and seems to sell quite well. I guess the problem is more in Ford's reputation, than in the product itself.
I really wish Ford all the best with their new Hybrids. Finally an American manufacturer is right there in the market, and the people don't buy its cars.
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Finished.Law.School 8:58AM (3/07/2006)
Good. BRING BACK THE EXCURSION!!!!!!!
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Matt Gabriel 9:11AM (3/07/2006)
It's about image, but not the one you think.
People have looong memories. It wasn't all that long ago the domestics wereplagued by quality control issues. How many early '90s Escorts and Tauruses (Taurii?) do you still see on the road? Not a whole bunch. Old Grand Marquises and Crown Vics outnumber them by a whole bunch, simply because the fleet cars were the most reliable things Ford made. So the only Ford buyers who think "never dies on you, ever" are over the age of 60. Not exactly the right sort of word-of-mouth demographic.
My girlfriend is 22. She has tales of her Mom's Chevy burning down on the highway, her stepdad's Buick dying mysteriously on the roadside, only to start back up on its own after it was towed to a garage. These memories last.
There ain't no way, no how, no-one is going to trust Ford with anything as high-tech as a hybrid. Trucks? Sure! They're trucks... trucks are hard to screw up. Over-engineer the sumbitch, chisel it out of a solid lump of pig-iron, and away you go for a gazillion miles. Stuff will break, and will be duct-taped, but that's trucks for you.
Hybrids with computers and electronics and stuff? From the same company who's headlights dim and brighten in time with the music on an aftermarket stereo? (Was a problem on my old Tempo, way back when. Wasn't even a good stereo.)
Ford's only going to make headway against the Honda and Toyota hybrids if they offer Korean warranties. 100,000k miles or 10 years, whichever comes first. That's how Hyundai killed their rep for shoddy QC, and it's the only way Ford (and GM) are going to do the same.
It's what saved the Focus after its launch was marred by severe front-end failures: 100,000k, 5 year warranties made the Focus a rival of the Civic and the Corola.
The domestics have improved dramatically in QC over the past ten years. That's not enough to correct 25 years worth of damage. Ford and GM need to put their money where their mouth is... stupid long warrantees, or continue to slide in sales until you hit the jagged edge of bankruptcy.
Hybrids are a Japanese game, because they've earned the right to be tech leaders by studious attention to quality control and vehicle longevity. The Americans have to prove to the public they're advanced enough to keep up, and vehicles that never, ever die are sexier than speed, handling and low gas mileage combined. Which is why Gran'pa feels like the king of the road in his Crown Vic.
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Source1 9:58AM (3/07/2006)
come on ford... who still wants a hybrid SUV
I'll take a AWD SUV because I need one here in NEPA. My problem with hybrids are that they are not economically feasible and until someone forces these environmental issues down my throat. Do we realize the Chinese will be putting tens of millions of cars on th road in the near future and they ignore the rest of the worlds emissions standards. More energy needs to be put into pushing them harder than telling America to 'shape-up'
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Joel A 10:12AM (3/07/2006)
"There ain't no way, no how, no-one is going to trust Ford with anything as high-tech as a hybrid."
I disagree, Matt Gabriel. According to the article, Toyota's other hybrid vehicles such as its Highlander are also suffering in sales with the issue seem to be more of the design than who is the manufacturer:
"Jeremy Anwyl, president of auto industry research firm Edmunds.com, says there is "softness" among all hybrids except for the $21,000 Prius, which doesn't have a comparable non-hybrid model against which to stack a baseline price. Anwyl said sales of Toyota's SUV hybrids, based on pre-existing vehicle designs, aren't performing as well as the Prius."
The complaint was also levied against the Accord hybrid which is manufactured by Honda, a company well-known for its quality products. (On the other hand, the company manufactures the hybrid Insight, whose design, IMO and many others, is too radical to be practical for most folks.)
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John B 11:11AM (3/07/2006)
Bottom line: Ford missed the boat by slapping hybrid guts into an aged platform and dated body style.
A "new" car needs to look new on the outside. Consumers buy packaging as well as content, i.e. all Apple products.
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Shifty 11:29AM (3/07/2006)
#8 i really dont think thats the issue here, like #10 said, hybrid models that have non hybrid counterparts seem to sell worse. i think most prius buyers just want to stand out because if you see a prius, you know its a hybrid. whare as the escape, besides the little badge and a vent in the window, it looks like everyother escape. i even remember seeing a lady driving a prius with stickers like "its electric" and "save the earth" and stuff of that nature all over it.
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Paul 11:34AM (3/07/2006)
by green I assume they mean the amount of money you will spend on towing charges everytime this unreliable american designed junk breaks down. what makes them think that they have the engineering talent to design a Hybrid. its clear that they dont. if someone whats a trouble free hybrid unfortunely they must look to our friends in Japan.
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LuboDuboLoL 12:42PM (3/07/2006)
I cant see why people like #11 don't like the design of the Escape. I would get it if I liked SUVs.
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Mike 1:25PM (3/07/2006)
At the Lexus dealer near me (Northern Va) I've noticed that the back lot has an entire row of RX Hybrid SUVs. Anyone has numbers on the real sales numbers of hybrid SUVs over all? Has the novelty warn off? The Prius is still a hot seller, at one time the waiting list was close to a year, what's the wait now?
With a quick check at on the web the msrp difference is close to $10K for a hybrid Lexus over a traditional model.
We all knew that people wouldn't be fooled by that for long. Once all the people who want to make a statement about conservation have bought theirs, no one else will unless the price point is easily justified. The market will sooner or later tell us what "justified" is. Can the manufactures actually get the costs down?
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Super Sport Auto Corgi 1:50PM (3/07/2006)
If people want to buy a hybrid for buying a hybrid's sake, they have what? 4-5? vehicles that come in under a well optioned Hybrid Escape's price point. And the people that wanted to drive a fuel efficient SUV are already in their Subaru Foresters and Outbacks. The people that want a Hybrid SUV and have money just sneer at the dated escape look and feel and go to the Hybrid Toyota Highlander.
If Ford wanted to get anyone's attention, they'd bring over the European Sport Focus Coupe and make it hybrid only, give it the body work of an early 80s mustang, and make sure it has a torquey electric motor for the low end. and then start it at $22k.
That's one thing the competition dosent have, is a visceral, glued-to-the-road ass hauling, stupid hoontastic ride, which is something Ford can do: a Mustang. That's something America can do for that matter. But the folks at Ford are too obsessed with AUGH BUY A FUSION BUY IT BUY IT BECAUSE WE MUST COMPETE WITH THE CAMRY AND ACCORD WE MUST - BUY A FUSION!!!! and entirely overlooking an original automotive genre which they can excel in, which is stupid american go-fast car.
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Peter Alexander 3:04PM (3/07/2006)
After reading the comments, I don't think there's just one reason the Escape hybrid isn't doing as well as other hybrids. I think each of the reasons given above is probably true for some people. But for the most part, I think it comes down to this: if you want a hybrid, you want to save gas, and 31 mpg is not good enough for someone going into that market (see #3). As for Prius buyers: yes, some of them want their virtue to be visible. There are people like that displaying many kinds of virtue. But personally, I don't care if anyone knows I'm driving a Prius; I want a hybrid (one of which will be our next car, within the next year or two) for the mileage. It will save money, I genuinely think it is a good thing to do for future generations, and I don't really care what anyone else thinks. So no one generalization applies to everyone.
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Brian W 5:09PM (3/07/2006)
Take away the tax breaks and word of mouth about real world mpg of SUVs and bigger autos and sales will start flating out.
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Billy C. 5:24PM (3/07/2006)
Check out Edmunds long term test of the Escape Hybrid. I believe they are averaging 22 miles per gallon. Why buy a hybrid for that?
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