“We welcome the changes made to the Focus and note positive initial feedbacks on forums”
Ford Europe’s new model programme, led by the latest improvements to its big selling Focus, will help transform the company’s bottom line with a £2 billion profit swing by the end of next year, according to International Strategy and Investment (ISI).
Ford Europe hasn’t matched GM Europe’s red-ink inducing achievements, but it still lost $1.6 billion last year, although this was an eight per cent improvement on 2012.
Ford Europe has said it will lose less money this year, and return to profitability in 2015.
Ford Europe has announced a face-lifted version of its Focus small family sedan, which will be shown for the first time at the Geneva Car Show. The new Focus has the latest corporate grille, smarter headlights and fenders, and the smart-phone connected Sync2 system with an 8-inch screen. It has new engines too, with a 1.5 liter, 150 hp gasoline engine and a new diesel of the same size and 120 hp. There’s also a 1.0 liter gas engine which will achieve around a claimed 66.1 mpg miles (4.4 l/km). Technology goodies include computerized parking, and automatic braking to cut down on slow-speed shunts.
Key model
ISI said the Focus is a key model for Ford Europe, accounting for 21.4 per cent of sales.
Ford sold 856,900 vehicles in Western Europe last year, down 3.5 per cent on the previous year in a market that declined 1.9 per cent.
“We welcome the changes made to the Focus and note positive initial feedbacks on forums. We believe the adoption of the corporate grille gives the Focus a more premium look and feel. Meanwhile the inclusion of an eight inch touch-screen is well overdue and takes Ford from laggard to close to the top when compared with the competition,” said ISI analyst Arndt Ellinghorst.
“We believe this technology is likely to now be made available across other products already on sale in Europe, most notably the Kuga (compact SUV) and possibly also the Fiesta (small car,” Ellinghorst said.
“Ford’s product momentum, together with restructuring actions, play a key part in why we see an approximate $2 billion earnings swing for Ford, from Europe alone, by 2015,” Ellinghorst said.
Other new products scheduled to hit Ford Europe dealerships include the new Mondeo family sedan, S-Max minivan, Mustang sports car and Edge SUV.
The slump in Western Europe’s car sales has probably bottomed out at close to 20 year lows. But this has been achieved at a huge cost in price cuts and incentives as manufacturers effectively buy sales trying desperately to move the metal and keep their production lines running. While the likes of Germany’s Volkswagen managed to keep its bottom lines healthy, Ford Europe, GM Europe, Fiat and Peugeot-Citroen have been mired in losses.
Plaudits
Despite Ford Europe’s losses, it has won plaudits from analysts who admired its tough decisions to slash over-production and headcount. Ford has removed 18 per cent of European capacity with the closure of a commercial vehicle plant in Britain and a car assembly plant in Genk, Belgium.
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