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Ford taking Model T-like approach in China

Dan Roth — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 18:29:00 EST

Filed under: China, Ford

Ford Motor Company knows a thing or two about building an empire on the back of a rock-bottom-priced automobile sold to customers in rural regions. That's why the company's strategy in China has been baffling to some analysts. Fords are expensive in China, and there are only a few models that you can get there. This is a problem for Ford, especially as the market for new cars in China, once hotter than the sun, cools a bit. With other markets plumbing new depths, Bloomberg reports that Ford is going back to something like Henry's own game plan.

If you want to become a volume leader in the world," says Ford Motor China Ltd. Chairman and CEO Joe Hinrichs, "you'll have to compete at the lower price points because that's where the growth is." Ford is spending nearly $5 billion to build factories in Asia, with the goal of bumping sales to five times current levels by 2020. It's a strategy intended to beat back the aggressive moves of General Motors and Volkswagen deeper into the Chinese countryside.

"Nearly every established Western automaker has a jump on Ford selling cars in China. Ford hasn't helped itself by offering a limited selection of models at higher prices than the competition, either, though that's beginning to shift with low-priced offerings like the hot-selling Figo B-segment entry. Hinrichs thinks there's gold in the Chinese countryside, and that's why Ford's adding three utility vehicles to its Chinese offerings, importing the Explorer, and expanding local production to get vehicles in Chinese showrooms that don't have import duties tacked on.

With the car market in Europe teetering on the razor's edge of failure and North America still an open question, automakers are looking for more steady success, and executives seem to think that Asia has potential. Ford's going to try and make up lots of ground in what may prove to be the fight of its life, rather than merely an exceptionally ambitious growth plan in a market the Blue Oval was late in embracing.

Ford taking Model T-like approach in China originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 06 Aug 2012 18:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Ford adding 100 dealers in China

Jonathon Ramsey — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 11:29:00 EST

Filed under: China, Plants/Manufacturing, Ford, India

According to Ford, 70 percent of the company's growth in the next decade will come from the Asia-Pacific region and Africa. The Blue Oval had only planned to have 310 dealerships in China at the end of 2010, but having sold nearly half a million cars this year and expecting the boom to continue, the number has jumped to 340 dealers. This is part of Ford's larger plan to add 100 new dealerships in China, mostly in smaller cities and inland provinces where new car demand is high.

Ford is planning a new plant with its Chinese joint venture partner, Changan, and will introduce four more models into the Chinese market next year, including the 2011 Edge. Elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific market, Ford has already spent $500 million on increasing production capacity in India, where it now sells the Figo subcompact.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req. | Image: STR/AFP/Getty]

Report: Ford adding 100 dealers in China originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 27 Nov 2010 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford introduces new Figo hatchback for India's burgeoning B-segment

Chris Paukert — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:29:00 EST

Filed under: Budget, Hatchback, Ford, India

2010 Ford Figo - Click above for high-res image gallery

You could be forgiven for thinking that Ford is starting to get a nicely thick global portfolio of B-segment cars, but with the class of vehicles picking up steam worldwide, the Blue Oval is keen to become an even bigger player - particularly in fast emerging markets like India. As such, Ford president and CEO Alan Mullaly found himself in Delhi today to unveil the company's new Figo hatchback.

With over 70% of the country's car sales falling into the B-segment, having more than just the Ikon and a market-specific version of the Fiesta and Fusion crossover in its quiver should help the Blue Oval take a bigger chunk of the market. Ford isn't releasing hard details (powertrains, platform, etc.) for the Figo yet, but it's quite clear that it fits in the existing family well, with many styling touches that remind us of the European (and soon to be U.S.) Fiesta, albeit with a more traditional upright bent - rather like the previous Fiesta, matter-of-fact.

Ford has just poured $500 million into updating and expanding its manufacturing plant near Chennai to build the Figo (which is apparently an Italian colloquialism for "cool"), and the facility has a production capacity of some 200,000 units, some of which will likely be exported when the line is up to speed (although the Figo is not expected to make any appearances Stateside). Click on the jump for further details after you check out the high-res gallery below.

Gallery: 2010 Ford Figo

[Source: Ford]

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Ford introduces new Figo hatchback for India's burgeoning B-segment originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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