VFACTS for October

[kocho]

Kia looks good. Stick a blue oval on it and people around here would be drooling.

[Chopped]

Originally Posted by robjh80

Peter Schreyer is the KIA designer / keep an eye on the whole range.

He was the man who turned AUDI sales around with beautiful designs (think TT etc)

[Polyal]

It reminds me of the honda civic type r.

Anyway, some solid results from Ford, but jeez the focus and mondeo still are not doing that well.

[Chopped]

Originally Posted by Polyal

....., but jeez the focus and mondeo still are not doing that well.

They are OVERPRICED compared to the competition / Holden had the same troubles with Astra, Barina & Vectra when they were sourcing from Europe like Ford does. Great cars, but great cars are not great if they don't sell.

Hyundai topped the "most reliable" list in the US - Korean made cars have come along way. Ford should be worried about holding 3rd spot from Hyundai.

[Swordsman88]

Originally Posted by Chopped

They are OVERPRICED compared to the competition / Holden had the same troubles with Astra, Barina & Vectra when they were sourcing from Europe like Ford does. Great cars, but great cars are not great if they don't sell.

Hyundai topped the "most reliable" list in the US - Korean made cars have come along way. Ford should be worried about holding 3rd spot from Hyundai.

THe mondeo is NOT overpriced comared to its competitors. the medium car segment (like so many others) is very much a two level. The cheaper, value, kitted out cars (camry, cruze (though that is tehnically small), epica, kia cerato etc.) and the top level (mazda 6, honda accord/euro etc.) The mondeo is part of the second group...and compared to those it is very competitive on price. In fact the most competitive of all of them when you look at what you get in zetec spec for example versus a mazda 6. Mazda had to drop the price of the 6 because they were overcharging....and honda has dropped its accord euro price alot since the old model.

It is true the top level cars don't sell as well as the low level, if no other reason then they are more expensive. But they are top level for a reason. They drive alot better, they have a 'premium' feel (real or implied) etc. The low spec stuff sells mostly to fleets...i've seen a few fleet cruzes already.... Unfrotunately amongst the buyers of the top cars the Ford doesnt have much of a name for itself. With recent mazda 6 price drops and the shrinking of the private buyer market im not surprised the mondeo suffers. Supply was an issue but i doubt its an issue any more (though the lack of a diesel wagon for a few more months is a concern....)

[russellw]

The first set of graphical data has been uploaded into the Tech Area with the second set to come shortly.

Cheers
Russ

[russellw]

The Supplementary Stats have also been uploaded now.

Cheers
Russ

[merlin]

Originally Posted by Chopped

They are OVERPRICED compared to the competition / Holden had the same troubles with Astra, Barina & Vectra when they were sourcing from Europe like Ford does. Great cars, but great cars are not great if they don't sell.

I really have to agree - we were recently new car shopping and the Mondeo is quite pricey. You can get a Mazda 6 or Accord for less and both have better resale. It's a shame as I really like the Mondeo styling (I'd have an XR5 or the diesal). I think many new car shoppers see Ford as a "budget brand" (not including our beloved performance cars here) and are surprised when their prices are more than the Japanese cars.

Anyway it was for the wife and she ended up going a Rav4 in the end for the space.

On the original topic Falcon has really made some ground on the Commodore.

[vztrt]

Ford thinks small for bigger sales

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...257669000DD6B2

[Stoney!]

Originally Posted by phillyc

Really should've said, 3700 idiots. Wheels tested about 13 cars in that size, Corolla was well down. Cruze was 4th best, Focus 3rd, Mazda3 2nd & Golf 1st.

Thats why I recently bought a new 1.4 supercharged turbocharged intercooled golf lolol.... I am now a VW man, what a fantastic car, unbeatable engines all packed into a top notch chassis with brilliant Dynamics and ride quality, not to mention interior quality. Though I will be interested to see a HSV Cruze when they come out...

Note that in an article between focus and cruze stated that the only thing keeping the focus in front by a chin hair was the Cruze's petrol engine, which will all change when the 1.4 turbo replaces the terrible N/A 1.8.

Stoney!

[phillyc]

RussellW, thanks as per usual. Makes for great reading for a numbers man like myself!

PS I reckon the Falcon sales downward trend has stopped. Seems 2800/mth is the new regular amount. That and 1000 Territory and 1000 Utes.

[naddis01]

Originally Posted by phillyc

RussellW, thanks as per usual. Makes for great reading for a numbers man like myself!

PS I reckon the Falcon sales downward trend has stopped. Seems 2800/mth is the new regular amount. That and 1000 Territory and 1000 Utes.

It does look that way doesnt it. It seems to me that the Falcon numbers seemed to level out from Jan 07 to Jan 09 (maybe still a slight downward trend), but it seems from Jan 09 to present the is a slight upward trend. ie both the peaks and troughs this year are higher than the previous peaks and troughs meaning an upward trend.

[russellw]

That is pretty accurate as an assumption - the chart below looks at the period from January 2007 until now and the yellow trend line is pretty much flat.



Conversely, the (red) trend line over the same period for the Ute is clearly downwards:



Cheers
Russ

[Joe5619]

Falcon sales really do get smashed in Jan every year!!

Lets just hope they have adjusted to these levels of sales & can make a nice profit from it.. Ford Aust need to make a profit very soon if the Falcon is to continue. Fingers crossed

[burnz]

i like the trend at tax time, buy to claim/buy with the return.

[phillyc]

Thanks for that post with those 2 graphs I had a look at the Falcon sales.

The last 12mths saw 30540 sales, averaging 2545 a month.
The last 6mths saw 17177 sales, averaging 2862 a month.

Yes, the last 6mths don't include January. But April is when Burela arrived and got serious with the marketing. Giving the finger to the finger adverts. Since then, we've seen some adverts comparing the 9.9L economy to the then current Camry 4cyl, the E-gas costs compared to a Corolla too. Now there has been the winning accolades - who's most likely? - adverts. The recent was the direct assault on the 3.0L VE - there's no sugar coating it. Commodore was 19% thirstier than it's ADR and 10% more fuel than Falcon.

[Joe5619]

Falcon Seden out sells Commodore Seden in Oct!!

http://www.carpoint.com.au/news/2009...on-sedan-17370

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by Joe5619

Falcon Seden out sells Commodore Seden in Oct!!

http://www.carpoint.com.au/news/2009...on-sedan-17370

[QUOTE]
There's just one Falcon variant that's not kicking goals -- the Falcon wagon. Still making do in BF Series III guise, where the sedan and ute are both selling in FG form, the wagon did sell about 400 units last month -- more than sales of Mondeo liftback and wagon combined.
[QUOTE]

The wagon hasn't dropped in sales, as a fleet hack it does its job and would make a nice profit per unit seeing as its still a BFIII. Wish they had done this with the RTV, low unit seller but it would have been stable.

[Road_Warrior]

Asked whether there was a particular tipping point for that decision, Burela basically attributed that to Ford's current relations with its customers, particularly those fleet buyers who have supported the Falcon wagon in the past -- rather than any specific engineering considerations.

"We tend to sell somewhere in the order of 400 to 500 wagons per the month... What we're really looking at here is how do we make sure that we do not disappoint, that we in fact, delight and create a reason for people to stay with wagon -- whether that be Falcon or Mondeo."

Well, uhh, July 1 2010 is looming larger in the rear view mirror so they'd need to make a decision soon (probably already made it) because the wagon in its current form can't be sold after that date

[Sprint XR8]

Falcon XT sales dwindle

Ford's locally-manufactured large car appears to be moving further upmarket with every passing month. The company has found itself with a really fast-selling hit on its hands with the flagship G6E Turbo, but, at the other end of the spectrum the entry-level XT is hardly moving at all.

In fact, Ford President Marin Burela informed the press today that if you actually want to purchase a Falcon XT, you have to sit and wait as Ford builds it for you -- just as you would if you wanted the aspirational G6E Turbo.

"Falcon is selling very much at the high end," Burela stated.

"G6E Turbo continues to outperform. We're taking orders now that are January-build and February-build cars. If you look at the XR6, it has found its place and the demand on it is very high. The G Series, through the special value pack that we introduced, just to get people really moving, has identified a whole new customer for us -- people that previously weren't there."

Burela had previously gone on record saying that Falcon XT only accounted for about five per cent of all Falcon sales -- with the G Series and XR models divvying up the bulk of sales between them.

"The XT now tends to be a very small part of our business and we tend to build XTs only on the basis of orders that have been placed," he said today. "We do not build them to go out there and fill production requirements."

Since the XT is falling out of favour, while Holden's Commodore Omega still appears to be raking in strong fleet sales, does this mean an end for the base Falcon?

"I think it continues to have a wonderful future," Burela replied, "but what it is, it's just showing to us that our customers have found the sweet spot in the different derivatives that meet their actual requirements.

"What we've done [is that] we've transformed the company from being predominantly focused on building and selling entry-level cars, to a company that now is building cars based on demand. The demand profile for our vehicles has moved significantly, in terms of mix -- to the high end and mid series. The entry-level vehicles tend to represent a lower percentage of our volume, but a very important percentage of our volume, because it forms the foundation on which we build everything else."

We asked whether Ford would possibly pick up more sales in the budget end of the large-car market once the EcoBoost four-cylinder engine comes on line. Burela doesn't see the direct-injected and turbocharged four as a replacement for the inline six, in any level of trim.

"We see the four-cylinder EcoBoost as an incremental business opportunity for us. It will give us the opportunity to open doors, where currently, we as Ford do not participate.

"To us, this [the EcoBoost] was a great move, this was a fuel economy move, this was a sustainability move -- it was not to take out one of our other derivatives."

But if the EcoBoost Falcon is as capable as Burela suggested during the briefing, expect the Falcon XT to rise again... supported by updrafts of former small and mid-size car fleets.

Whether Ford actually wants to return downmarket in this market segment is yet to be established, of course.

http://www.carpoint.com.au/news/2009...-dwindle-17374

[Swordsman88]

And to think in a recent thread (now closed) i was maligned for suggesting that the large car market (holden and maybe toyota aside) was becoming more about high end purchases. With luxury and performance being the way to go and fleets going for 4 pot cars (camry etc.). Ford managed to outsell the VE in sedan sales because a large % of their sales are obviously sportwagon. HOWEVER, by far the majority of sportwagons i see are omega....fleet sales basically.

So in real terms Ford is no doubt very chuffed by the situation because while BF wagon sells less than Sportwagon it cost diddly to engineer, being basically carry over, and the fg sedan is matching VE sedan but with a much richer model mix.

Some interesting stories out there RE territory too... worth a read. Burela notes the territory is going to a more high end mix too.... While there is nothing wrong with strong fleet sales (provided they help support the bottom line) its heartening to see the entire ford lineup going more 'high spec'; This implies both more private sales but also an acceptance of the lineup from upper middle class socioeconomic backgrounds. I reckon its the GFC and people starting to realise that you know, going for low spec BMW/Mercs or even Honda/Lexus is not worth it when Mazda/Ford even Hyundai are offering such competitive cars for less.

The G6ET is going ganbusters because faced with the choice of that or some mid level Merc C class its a no brainer. The buyers probably don't even want that power but just walk into the showroom and go...i want that one! The top of the line thanks! Here's my cheque.....hmmm Burela must be loving this.

[XR Martin]

I cant believe Ford are surprised at the G6ET sales, they missed a big opportunity with doing a BA/BF Fairmont Ghia turbo

[phillyc]

Originally Posted by XR6 Martin

I cant believe Ford are surprised at the G6ET sales, they missed a big opportunity with doing a BA/BF Fairmont Ghia turbo

Better realising it now than later! Besides the G-Series cars really do now have a clear identity versus what the Ghia had in those iterations.

[vztrt]

More from car point.

http://www.caradvice.com.au/47710/fo...me-in-4-years/

Ford Falcon outsells Holden Commodore, first time in 4 years

November 13, 2009 by Matt Brogan

The Ford Falcon sedan outsold the Commodore sedan for the first time in almost four years in October.

An ecstatic Ford Australia president Marin Burela today announced that his company sold 2460 Falcon sedans compared to Holden’s 2425.

“We outsold them by only 35 or 36 cars but I’ve got to tell you, one would have been enough,” he said.

Burela said around one year ago he and his company made a pledge to “do something very special with the Falcon sedan”, and was especially pleased with the success of the XR6 Turbo and G6E Turbo and the special edition G-Series.

“I can’t tell you what a great celebration and a great delight it was that we were able to do this. We are now starting to really see that the Australian market, the consumers, are really rallying behind it.”

Market share of the Falcon sedan has continued to climb over the last 14 months, dropping to as low as 25 per cent and peaking at 37 per cent.

Total Falcon sales still trail well behind the Commodore (2841 versus 3455 in October) which has much to do with the success of the Sportwagon – which sold over 1000 units compared to the Falcon wagon’s sub-400 performance.

Burela said Ford is yet to make a definitive decision on the future of the wagon, but said one is due within the next two months and will be heavily influenced by the success and popularity of the new Mondeo wagon.

“The (Mondeo) wagon is now starting to attract an enormous amount of interest from fleets, from government, we’re seeing interest from small business and also the private buyer.

“With the two of them sitting side by side, we’re just letting the market tell us what they want and once we’ve received that … we will know then the direction we need to move in.”

Another battle Burela is watching with interest is the contest between the Falcon and Commodore based utes.

Ford won the sales by 150 units last year, but a solid October from Holden (1127 versus 978) has pushed it into the year-to-date lead in 2009 by just 46 cars.

“Between Holden and ourselves, what a great race. One month we beat them, the next month they beat us, then we beat them, they beat us, and right now we’re nose and nose.

“What a great success story for the Australian industry between two main competitors who are really going at it and competing out there,” Burela said.

by Tim Beissmann

[phillyc]

Originally Posted by vztrt

More from car point.

http://www.caradvice.com.au/47710/fo...me-in-4-years/

2460 Falcon sedans
2425 C'dore sedans

381 Falcon wagons
1030 C'dore wagons

2841 Falcon (s+w)
3455 Commodore (s+w)

978 Falcon Ute
1127 C'dore Ute

890 Territory

Ford TOTAL = 4709
GMH TOTAL = 4582 + LWB

The trend which has emerged with the FG and VE is that the Ford is getting closer. It's been close several times this year already, at least twice under 100 units IIRC.

Yes, so far it's a one off, but the battle is clearly beginning to heat up.

Since, VE is comfortably ahead of Corolla YTD, i don't expect a massive - re: drastic price drop campaign - by GMH for the sedan/wagon. I do expect some biff with the Ute though. Precisely why Ford is now offering FG XR6 utes for $32990 d/a. Burela wants that win.

PS Yes, there does seem to be a decent trend towards Ford getting a reasonable run in the media too. Great to see.

[vztrt]

Ford Australia President optimisitic on 2010 sales figures

http://www.caradvice.com.au/47833/fo...sales-figures/

Ford Australia President optimisitic on 2010 sales figures

November 16, 2009 by Matt Brogan

Ford Australia President Marin Burela is hopeful that the automotive industry will continue to fight back in 2010 with predictions of national sales up to 950,000.

The self-confessed “glass half-full” forecaster expects the sales to soften in the first quarter after a solid end to 2009 before a kick-up in the second quarter continuing through the rest of 2010.

“I would not at all be surprised if we start to see some 930s/940s (thousands of sales) on a regular basis when we get into the second quarter and into the second half of 2010,” he said.

His optimism comes on the back of strong October sales where Ford sold 8240 vehicles and the industry as a whole was up 2.2 per cent on October 2008 with 80,813 sales.

“We exceeded our expectations in terms of volume in the month of October. I’m very confident that we will continue to see that trend in November, and I think the industry overall will probably finish up somewhere around that 920,000 maybe 930,000.

“We’ve seen a significant uplift in the last few months which is really helping all of the manufacturers as well as all of the employees.”

Burela says the result is a far cry from 12 months ago when figures of low-800s were feared, and believes that the combined efforts governments, unions, manufacturers and suppliers working together have had a great impact.

“When we really get focused on what it takes to get out there and move forward there’s a lot that can be achieved.

“It’s exciting times for us, but we need to be cautious in terms of our optimism because there’s a lot more work that we need to do to truly get the industry back to where it needs to be,” he said.

Tariff reductions – halved to 5 per cent from next year – are just one reason to exercise caution according to Burela.

He says while the reductions will place significantly more pressure on the industry’s ability to absorb changes, his company has not been sitting on its hands.

“We have been working very diligently across our total organisation, with our suppliers, with our manufacturing teams, with our distribution network to find efficiency opportunities to offset some of those tariff changes that we’re going to see.

“Am I satisfied that we have achieved the ultimate goal? The answer is no, it’s very much a work in progress. Am I happy with the progress we have been making? The answer is yes.

“Although it’s hard and we could all say: ‘It’s too hard, we can’t do this’, I’m confident that with the right leadership and the right attention to detail we can continue to carve out a business for ourselves that will be viable.”

Burela said price adjustments for the Falcon and Territory are being considered but insisted that the movements of the market would most likely determine his company’s strategy.

With Falcon sales up 3.4 per cent on October 2008 and Territory rising by almost 11 per cent in the same period, Burela says Ford is looking to boost production above the current 270 cars per day by the end of the year.

He also confirmed that there is no non-production days planned for the rest of this year or for 2010, but stopped well short of implying that overtime could make a comeback.

“We don’t want to be too optimistic. We’re in a good place right now, we’re selling everything we can make, our imported cars are doing great work for us. We’ll make a decision in the next couple of weeks in terms of what we need to do, how we go out there and get those cars that we’re looking for.

“Let’s just see where we are when we move into 2010, but I think next year will be an exciting year.”

by Tim Beissmann

[burnz]

both holden and ford better get sale's

july~june tax net profit

2008~2009 toyota $123 million profit.

2008~2009 holden $70 million loss.

2008~2009 ford $274 million loss.

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by burnz

both holden and ford better get sale's

july~june tax net profit

2008~2009 toyota $123 million profit.

2008~2009 holden $70 million loss.

2008~2009 ford $274 million loss.

Ford pulled out a 27million dollar profit last quarter (up from 4 million this time last year) so hopefully with things looking up the Ford/Holden will keep going for another cycle.

[phillyc]

Originally Posted by burnz

both holden and ford better get sale's

july~june tax net profit

2008~2009 toyota $123 million profit.

2008~2009 holden $70 million loss.

2008~2009 ford $274 million loss.

Well, GMH have totalled $600million in losses the last few years. Their parent company GM lost $38.7B in 2007 alone. $15.5B loss in Q2-2008.

Originally Posted by bloomberg

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...d=au.TL_ofjGuM

The world's largest automaker has posted $69.8 billion in losses since 2004 and said today it must have $11 billion to $14 billion each month to pay its bills.

``There is a tendency to throw up your hands and say this can't be fixed,'' Wagoner, in his ninth year as CEO, told Bloomberg Television today.
``We do have adequate liquidity through 2009 even with continuing difficult market conditions and, to be honest, we don't know when that's going to turn.''

Well, that bolded bit, shows why GM are in their desperate bankrupted state they are in. Liars. Because we all know they received bailout money. Ford didn't.

GMH themselves also took a $200M line of credit to shore up their operations just a few months ago too. Their loss was as a result of dramatic loss of sales which resulted in over 20,000 Commodores sitting on the grass. Remember the $28k driveaway with $10k free extras deals? Add to that the loss of 87% of their export orders.

Ford's result, was by and large the result of a $220+million superannuation (defined benefit scheme) loss. With the stock market doing as well as it has these last few months, this scheme will make a profit this year.

This is a good news story about FORD Burnz. Stop being a troll. The article clearly states that Ford are making and selling every Falcon, Ute, Wagon & Territory they can.

[phillyc]

Originally Posted by vztrt

Ford pulled out a 27million dollar profit last quarter (up from 4 million this time last year) so hopefully with things looking up the Ford/Holden will keep going for another cycle.

Exactly, was trying to find a link to that. Building 270 cars a day with 95% of Falcon sedans being XR or G series is great. Territory is moving further up the model mix too.

Cars built to demand, with a good volume and a high spec mix = profit.