Ford scratching out a profit in Europe
Ford of Europe Chairman Lewis Booth (pictured with
mischievous grin) was quoted Tuesday as confirming that Ford will be profitable in Europe in 2006, despite intense
price competition and high prices for raw materials.The crowded European market is a challenging venue for many automakers, as Japanese and South Korean companies are aggressively pursuing market share putting many western brands under pressure. Booth feels that Ford is holding its own with against the eastern competition, while trends for the Premier Automotive Group were mixed with Jaguar under pressure as always, Volvo recovering and Land Rover doing well.
[Sources: Reuters, Ford]
Get a WordPress.com Blog
_opt_thumbnail.jpg)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Razib Ahmed 8:45PM (4/19/2006)
"Ford will be profitable in Europe in 2006, despite intense price competition and high prices for raw materials."- that's a very good news for Ford. Competing Japanse and Korean companies is not an easy task. I feel that Ford should pay more attention to the Indian market. The Indian market is growing very fast and DaimlerChrysler (http://www.southasiabiz.com/daimlerchrysler/) is now aggressively working on it. I think that Ford should do the same.
Reply
Howard Kerr 9:18PM (4/19/2006)
Two thoughts:
A.) THAT'S a "mischevious grin"? Get real.
B.) "....trends for the Premier Automotive Group were
mixed....". Why doesn't someone in Ford's PR dept.
just have a big rubber stamp made with that whole
statement etched into it? I mean "Jaguar under
pressure, Volvo recovering and Land Rover doing
well..." has been used repeatedly and for years.
Don't get me wrong, Ford has done a better job
overseas than GM or the PRE Daimler DCX ever did.
Reply
Rastus 11:14PM (4/19/2006)
Meanwhile, GM is scratching their balls ....wondering IF they will ever turn a profit in North America.
Ladies and Gents, do NOT shake hands with a GM employee!
Reply
Udayan Tripathi 5:43AM (4/20/2006)
That's because Ford Europe sells GOOD cars. Mondeo is great, Focus is THE class leader, Ka is cute, Fiesta now looks like a really great competitor. We don't have Explorer/Excursion/Super Chief - not even the F150.
Even though the Ka may not sell well in the USA, better saloons/sedans from Ford (ahem Five Hundred is so boring) would probably help. Stop churning out SUVs, this isn't 1999 when those things sold.
Reply
Yaroukh 6:33AM (4/20/2006)
#4: F-150 is doing well in USA, isn't it?
Reply