Vfacts For August 2009

[Windsor220]

Originally Posted by buickman

The Lancer is moving up the sales charts what is the go with Focus it competes with price but struggles in sales against the comp small cars!

I dont think there is anything wrong with the Focus but look at the names its up against. Lancer, Corolla, 3, Cruze
Cruze has the bogans wives taken care of.
Corolla is a fleet special
Lancer and 3 are just very popular and half decent cars too.

[RATT]

Originally Posted by ehast13

I guess most of the Cruze figures are dealers registering them to have as demo's.

Don't think so. There would be some but not nearly 4000 units sold in the last 10 weeks.

[RATT]

Originally Posted by flappist

Apparently they have found that a number of people who state that they are Ford supporters and enthusiasts are never be satisfied with anything Ford do and constantly complain and nitpick about everything.

They are currently studying Holden enthusiasts to see if the fact that Holden enthusiasts talk up Holden products and the company regardless of how bad they are while Ford enthusiasts constantly talk down Ford products and the company regardless of how good they are has anything to Holden selling more than Ford......

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by RATT

Don't think so. There would be some but not nearly 4000 units sold in the last 10 weeks.

Funny thing is you don't see huge amounts of them on the road...but quite a number of them at dealerships...

[Romulus]

Originally Posted by snappy84

Ford need more then a diesel motor for the terri they need a time machine , With all the bad press it has recieved about ball joints and brake failures and is still recieving bad press too .
How could a somone buy a family car with those things hanging in the back of your mind . I know i wouldn't and you would have to like a gamble to buy one yourself.
I do know there has been fairly limited numbers that has recieved these problems but enough to make the car a failure.
My opionin is Ford need to drop the territory and build it a little different under a new name until they do this i doubt it will never sell well . To many people know its flaws

We traded our Territory, see my signature to find out what replaced it. Both vehicles cost around the same money RRP, although are poles apart in what they can do. Although not as fast, the Paj does everything else better, plus then some.

You summed it up nicely, as an SUV they need to address build quality, fuel consumption and it's capability as a soft-roader. Toyota have a vehicle for almost every market - just look at the number of 4WD models it has.

Ford missed the boat big time with a diesel option - and perhaps a central locking differential like so many other soft-roaders have.

[snappy]

Ratt
I would like to hear your professional opinion on why Commodore sells better then the Falcon. Do you think its brand loyalty ,fleets, its better or the perception that its a aussie vehicle . Or maybe somthing else
I have my thoughts but they could not even be considerd a educated gues

[Serial_Fool]

The fact is that unless Holden have a product so far below from the competition they will continue to lead the way in local vehicle sales (VC-VL compared to XD-XF for a retro example). Mostly due to Nationalism but also the perception of Holden being the sportiest and fastest of the local manufacturers.

Those Toyota figures are just.....wow.

[ehast13]

Toyota is the sensible choice. I mean, I would be more than happy for my daughter to drive a Toyota for the rest of my life. They are built upon reputation, goodwill and service standards second to none (I know there are exceptions to this, but the rule is that Toyotas are built well and backed up well)

Holden is the passionate choice. Patriotism (misguided), excellent marketing and unwavering commitment to image. This includes continued Motorsport involvement, big $$$ advertising, greasing palms etc

Hyundai is the cheap choice. See how they focus on price and running costs

Mazda is the fun choice. Zoom Zoom

Ford has little identity anymore. Ford used to nail the market in the 80's. Falcon was bigger and better than commie (the great australian road car), Laser/Meteor was perceived as superior to astra (remember those ads - Ford Laser, Tomorrow...TODAY!), Telstar was bigger than camira (Telstar, big car space, four cylinder economy), they still made fairlanes/LTDs (while holden shelved the luxo's), Ford had the only big engined ute on the market etc etc. Buy any old magazine from the 80's and see the amount of ads for fords...heaps. Clever stuff too.

Ford dropped the V8 (say goodbye to the image built up from XR GT onwards)
Holden nearly matched Falcon for size (VN)
Holden had 4 speed auto and efi nissan OHC for perceived tech (VL)
Holden got IRS
Holden got Airbag
Statesman/caprice returned
Commie Ute returned

Suddenly falcon had real competition again

Telstar (now facing more competition) dropped in favour mondeo

Laser (now facing hyundai, Kia, Daewoo, VW, Peugoet, Nissan, Holden, Toyota, etc etc) dropped in favour of focus

Festiva gone. No replacement except for Ka.

Ford had alot of good will with nameplates and image, but pee'd alot of it away with unfinished EA's, plasticky AU's and dropping popular names (e.g. laser) for new names.

A generation of kids who never saw a falcon racecar (1985 - 1992) saw commodores as cool, and falcons as taxis.

Holden buyers who went to ford for the extra space returned.

Holden made profit again and pumped $$$ into marketing.

Holden kept releasing new commodores before each falcon. Each new commie was supported by big fanfare, while ford did little by comparison (e.g when was the last time u saw a free ford dvd or calender on the front of a wheels/motor magazine).

It wasn't one big thing, it was a lot of little things.

If each poor decision reduces your buyer base by 1% then with 20 decisions over 20 years, you'll lose more than 20% because of word of mouth, perceived product/business failure (e.g. mitsubishi), image and many many competitors ready to snap up your leftovers.

YOu can't afford to make too many mistakes because car buyers pass on their loyalty to their kids and family etc etc.

What ford needs to do is look at channel 10 (TV). They operate on a much smaller budget than 7 or 9 but focus on a loyal youth and sport clientele. They are profitable and this clientele will keep watching repeats of the simpsons out of habit.

Providing Ford pushes quality products and kicks some eco-goals (and advertises, sucks up to media etc) they can develop a similar loyal clientele. Ford service standards need to meet Toyota standards (see JP Morgan satisfaction surveys) and they can rebuild.

Anyhoo, this is my sleep-deprived opinion. There are some good points in it and probably some stuff that i can be corrected on. But I reckon a lot of it makes sense.

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by Joe5619

Ford nearly sold more local cars than Holden. Not too bad an effect IMO.

Ford 4,223 (2,449 + 878 + 896) down 15.6% from last year
Holden 4,273 (3,329 + 800 + 123 + 21) down 28.0% from last year.

Add the fact Holden are running 2 half teams (one week on, one week off at half pay) & Ford are running just the one full-time team... Ford has to be way out in front in dollar terms.. Surely!!

This doesn't take into account the export cars, but with the GFC who knows how many are going o/s.

Originally Posted by buggerlugs

Is the Astra finished ? It seems that the Cruze took all it's numbers........

Yes its dead.

http://www.caradvice.com.au/39638/ho...ally-finished/

[vztrt]

Aussie car sector back in business

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...257626001CCF5A

New-vehicle market steadies as consumer confidence returns

3 September 2009

By TERRY MARTIN

AS ECONOMISTS marvel at how Australia has managed to avoid a recession – and, indeed, grow – in the face of the global financial crisis, the automotive sector has provided further evidence that consumer confidence has returned and that multi-billion-dollar government handouts and tax breaks to households and businesses have had a positive impact on new-vehicle sales.

Figures released today by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) show the overall August sales result of 73,287 passenger cars, SUVs and commercial vehicles was down 5.2 per cent, or 4036 vehicles, to leave the market down 14.2 per cent (or 100,151 vehicles) after eight months of trading, which is considered an excellent result in light of local and global production cuts and much deeper sales declines overseas.

Several segments recorded sales increases – compared with August 2008 – including small cars (up 7.2 per cent), light cars (up 0.3 per cent, or 1.2 per cent sans the niche over-$25,000 bracket), luxury SUVs (up 19.2 per cent), medium-sized SUVs (up 1.6 per cent), commercial vans (up 8.2 per cent) and even sportscars (up 1.4 per cent).

The main prestige passenger-car segments also went up, including medium (up 1.8 per cent), large (up 4.2 per cent) and over-$100,000 executive transport (up 27.6 per cent).

Year-to-date, 603,843 new vehicles have been sold.

“These figures indicate that private buyers are regaining confidence and re-entering the market,” said FCAI chief executive Andrew McKellar. “The better-than-expected sales to private buyers and rental companies have really buoyed the market heading into spring.

“Strong demand continues from business buyers who are taking advantage of the tax break available, and the effectiveness of the stimulus measure is being reflected in the supply constraints experienced on some models.”

The VFACTS figures show that rental passenger car purchases were up 14.3 per cent last month, clotting sales which have haemorrhaged 38.7 per cent YTD in this corner of the market, while overall private and business sales (which includes SUVs and LCVs) were down a respective 1.6 and 4.5 per cent for the month to rest at 13.1/10.8 per cent down YTD.

Government sales fell 24.4 per cent for the month, to be 13.5 per cent down YTD, which in turn reflects on the continued decline in Australian-built cars.

For the second successive month, the Holden Commodore, with 3329 sales (down 30.8 per cent for the month) was toppled from its usual position as Australia’s most popular car, deferring again to the Toyota Corolla which recorded 3659 sales (down 3.6 per cent).

The status quo for this financial year should change before too long with the launch of the updated VE Commodore this month, which could also see a corresponding rise in government sales, continued strength in rentals and an improvement in the large-car segment overall.

The latter was down 22.3 per cent last month to be 19.1 down YTD. In percentage terms, Ford Falcon sales were the most impressive, down just 9.6 per cent for the month with 2449 sales (to be 5.5 per cent off YTD, compared to Commodore which is down 12.9 per cent YTD), with the Toyota Aurion down 23 per cent for month with 838 sales (down 36.3 per cent YTD).

No longer the one to beat in the medium-sized SUV segment, Ford’s Australian-built Territory was down 9.9 per cent for the month with 896 sales – and is down 26.2 per cent YTD.

Toyota’s recently upgraded medium-sized Camry had a strong month, reasserting its dominance with 2192 sales (up 40.8 per cent) to be well ahead of its imported rivals, including the next-best Mazda6 on 694 (up 2.1 per cent), the new Ford Mondeo (357), Honda Accord Euro (345) and the Subaru Liberty (269), which was down 28.1 per cent but is awaiting the arrival of a redesigned model later this month.

The Corolla and Camry result has underscored Toyota’s continued superiority in the Australia market, with the Japanese brand recording 15,994 sales for the month, for a 21.8 per cent share. This was down just 1.04 per cent on August 2008 and saw it remain miles ahead of Holden on 9505 sales (13.0 per cent share, down 0.87 for the month), Ford on 7623 (10.4 per cent, down 0.72 per cent) and Hyundai, which again outsold Mazda, on 5980 (8.2 per cent, up 3.46 per cent).

Mazda managed 5683 sales for the month, which converts to an 8.0 per cent share (up 0.46 per cent for the month), and continues to hold down fourth position YTD with 50,490 sales (8.4 per cent share) compared to Hyundai in fifth on 42,141 (7.0 per cent).

Ford holds down a clear third YTD on 31,862 sales (10.2 per cent), behind Holden on 75,923 (12.6 per cent) and Toyota on 126,891 sales YTD for a 21 per cent share – a massive lead of 50,968 vehicles from its nearest competitor.

Toyota Australia’s senior executive director of sales and marketing, David Buttner, said promising signs for both it and the car sector as a whole could be seen in both the VFACTS results and the government’s national accounts, the latter showing that Australia has had the fastest-growing advanced economy in the past year and was the only advanced economy not to record negative growth over the period.

“Yesterday’s national accounts figures show the economy, while still posing significant challenges, appears to be gathering pace,” Mr Buttner said. “Our dealers tell us that customer enquiries and forward orders have shown steady signs of improvement in recent months.

”If this trend continues, we can expect to see more business and private consumers having the confidence to purchase new vehicles over the balance of the year.”

Mr Buttner pointed to the fact that three of its models – Corolla, Camry and HiLux – filled the top six positions on the national sales charts last month, and that the brand scored a trifecta with Kluger, Prado and RAV4 being Australia’s best-selling SUVs, each with more than 1000 sales.

It also continued to dominate the large-SUV segment with LandCruiser, and the van and light-bus divisions with HiAce.

There were standout performers from other brands, and notable efforts from a host of new models.

Among the light cars, the Hyundai Getz again led the field with 1868 sales (up 10.8 per cent) – a ready example of why Australia will be the sole world market not to discontinue the Getz once the i20 arrives next year – while Toyota’s Yaris, though still second, was down 26.9 per cent with 1406 sales. Suzuki’s new Alto recorded 96 sales, while Honda’s Jazz/City combination brought a combined 1055 sales.

While Corolla dominated the small-car scene, three other models continued their positive runs with more than 2000 sales – the Mazda3 (2898 units, up 7.6 per cent), Mitsubishi Lancer (2171, up 54.6 per cent) and Hyundai i30 (2105, up a massive 145.1 per cent). Holden’s new Cruze was next best with a strong 1971 sales, while at the lower – but still significant – end, Toyota also notched up a further 295 sales with its new-generation Prius (up 27.2 per cent).

The Prius result was reflected in the increase in both private and non-private hybrid passenger-car sales, which were up 27.1 and 14.8 per cent respectively – an encouraging sign for Toyota as it prepares to launch its Australian-built Camry hybrid in the coming months.

Sales of small cars over $40,000 were up 14 per cent for the month, with Audi leading the segment with its A3 (200 sales, up 100 per cent), well ahead of the Mini Cooper (133, up 66.7 per cent) and the BMW 1 Series (84, down 17.6 per cent).

Medium cars over $60,000 were also up (by 1.8 per cent), with the BMW 3 Series outselling the Mercedes C-class with 356 sales to 342 – a 21.5 per cent increase for the BMW, but a 22.1 per cent fall for the Benz – while Audi was a close third with its A4 on 326 (up 6.5 per cent).

Mercedes turned the tables in large cars over $70,000 – another segment to record a positive result, up 4.2 per cent – with its E-class winning 181 sales (up 33.1 per cent) to be streets ahead of the BMW 5 Series (71 sales, down 19.3 per cent) and a fast-closing Audi A6 (54 sales, up 42.1 per cent).

Among the limos (upper large over $100,000), a 27.6 per cent increase in the segment can be attributed to the BMW 7 Series (34 sales, up 88.9 per cent), Mercedes S-class (27, up 50 per cent), three Rolls-Royce sales and a couple of registrations from Porsche with its all-new Panamera.

Among the lacklustre people-mover market segment, Hyundai’s iMax – which last month scored four stars from the ANCAP crash-test regime – added to the South Korean brand’s growth chart with 98 sales to be third behind the well-established Kia Carnival and Toyota Tarago. The same can be said for Hyundai’s iLoad van, which recorded 348 sales (up 109.6 per cent) to be a clear second behind the HiAce (833, up 20.7 per cent).

The growth in sportscar sales came from the over-$80,000 division, in which Mercedes won 153 sales, and led the field, with its new E-class Coupe. Audi won 115 A5 new customers (up 101.8 per cent) and Lexus made 20 sales with its 1S250C, while BMW was down 24.9 per cent with its 3 Series Coupe/Convertible (136).

Among the SUVs, the RAV4 (1061 sales, up 15.1 per cent) only narrowly outsold the Hyundai Tucson, which racked up 1024 sales – up a phenomenal 283.5 per cent – to be the only other small SUV over 1000 units. Yes, that means it beat the Subaru Forester (952, down 37.9 per cent), Nissan X-Trail (533, down 27.9 per cent) and the Honda CR-V (367, down 42 per cent).

In the medium-sized SUV segment, the only other model to match the pace set by Kluger (1108, up 19.8 per cent) and Prado (1065, down 11.2 per cent) was the Holden Captiva (1031, up 59.8 per cent).

Meanwhile, in the luxury SUV division, BMW recorded strong results with its X5 (296, up 27.6 per cent) and X3 (90, up 30.4 per cent), while the X6, which is the only model in this segment to be in positive territory YTD, slipped 54.6 per cent for the month with 44 sales.

Lexus also returned to form in this segment with 178 RX sales (up 10.6 per cent), while Land Rover found 152 Discovery buyers (up 58.3 per cent).

Among the 4x2 utes and one-tonners, Chinese brand Great Wall Motors found 56 and 76 buyers respectively for its new SA220 and V240, while Mitsubishi made further gains with Triton (510, up 6.5 per cent) and Mazda improved with the BT-50 (396, up 32.4 per cent).

Having said that, none of these were close to the HiLux or the Ford or Holden car-based utilities, which all cleared at least 800 units.

The increasingly important 4x4 segment saw Great Wall accumulate a further 96 units with the V240, while the small-business buyer interest in the market was evident with Holden improving with Colorado (608 units, up 65.7 per cent) and Ford with Ranger (631 units, up 10.5 per cent).

The Triton was down 17 per cent for the month (516) but is still the only mainstream 4x4 to be up this year.

[Joe5619]

Originally Posted by ehast13

If each poor decision reduces your buyer base by 1% then with 20 decisions over 20 years, you'll lose more than 20% because of word of mouth, perceived product/business failure (e.g. mitsubishi), image and many many competitors ready to snap up your leftovers.

Fantastic point & I agree 100%.. The biggest problem for Ford is turning this around & the process starts with good decision making (which I think they are starting to make), but it will take 10-15 years to turn this around. Same long process, but in reverse. It simiply wont happen over night or even over 1-2 years. And will take more than just releasing a better new model (eg: FG Falcon, festa)

[The Snout]

Astra and Viva down 1803. Cruze 1971. No sales miracle here yet.

[The Snout]

Originally Posted by Joe5619

Fantastic point & I agree 100%.. The biggest problem for Ford is turning this around & the process starts with good decision making (which I think they are starting to make), but it will take 10-15 years to turn this around. Same long process, but in reverse. It simiply wont happen over night or even over 1-2 years. And will take more than just releasing a better new model (eg: FG Falcon, festa)

Agree. There are no bandaid fixes to the image of Ford. It's got to be something that's worked on consistently with a consistent message.

What is Ford ? It's image seems neither one thing or the other. 'We're a car maker, we sell cars, of course'.

ehast13's post is excellent.

[csv8]

Rumour has it FORD will can the XR8. The only V8 FORD will be from FPV. AGAIN FORD has learnt nothing from the 80's.

[ehast13]

Well technically, the XR8 is already almost an FPV model. Ford supply the body, FPV build the engine.

I guess it is a case of marketing.

Is FPV seen as part of Ford? I mean, when you buy a GT you are buying a Ford Falcon GT aren't you?

If the base V8 (be it an XR8 or GS or whatever) is competitively priced (with SS-V), but wears an FPV Badge rather than a Ford badge, then it may not affect ford's image that much.

I think ford wants to re-invent itself as a greener, technological powerhouse.

I4t - betters the Holden base V6/Camry/mazda 6 etc
16 - betters the top Holden V6/aurion/accord v6 etc
I6T - betters the Holden V8/imports
Fiesta Eco - betters the Prius
Focus Eco/Focus Diesel - betters Corolla etc

FPV handles the performance part. It may be a masterstroke. I think most people think of FPV's as fords anyway.

[Joe5619]

Originally Posted by csv8

Rumour has it FORD will can the XR8. The only V8 FORD will be from FPV. AGAIN FORD has learnt nothing from the 80's.

Personally I think that is the way to go. It doesn't do much for the XR8 badge if the XR6T is quicker model after model IMO (even the EL or was it EF XR6 was quicker then XR8). Leave the V8's to FPV I say.. This setup is very very different to the no V8's from the 80's!!

[cosmo20btt]

Originally Posted by buickman

The Lancer is moving up the sales charts what is the go with Focus it competes with price but struggles in sales against the comp small cars!

A friend of mine is looking at buying a car & i mentioned the focus & he said it was a pos, i then replied that the focus is one of the most popular cars in the uk. He just said its as bad as those things called mondeos isnt it? I think ford have a lot to do in changing the aussie culture if it want to even try and sell a overseas car here. Maybe they should do an ad or article that makes a point to all australians that what cars are made here or assembled here & to what percentage, aussies can be more supportive of its local market if they were educated better.(how ever not so good ford focus or mondeo but good foor falcon) After all holden marketing comes over as if the car was really made here, but it is not yet.

[Wally]

Originally Posted by Windsor220

I dont think there is anything wrong with the Focus but look at the names its up against. Lancer, Corolla, 3, Cruze
Cruze has the bogans wives taken care of.
Corolla is a fleet special
Lancer and 3 are just very popular and half decent cars too.

Always someone who has to wheel out the tired and hachneyed "bogan" cliche. I am not a bogan, my wife is not a boganette, sharpy, skeg, scragg, etc and she liked the looks of the Cruze wrapped around the half ton of gold jewellery she wears everywhere. In the end she bought another make, but it was close.

We can all analyse the figures and make them fit stereotypes, but at the end of the day sales are sales and perhaps, just perhaps the majority choose a car because they like it.

[merlin]

All interesting reading above - I think the reason Ford sales are down is simply because of the increased competition nowadays from a number of different manufacturers. Its never going to go back to the way things were in the 80's. When people look at a family car in the 80's they chose between Falcon or Commordore. Nowadays there is so many choices - Mazda 6, Honda Accord, Passat, Aurion, Liberty, not to mention all the SUV's. Is it a pricing problem maybe?

I know I have been looking at new cars latley for the wife and I wouldn't even consider Ford (due to reliability, resale and no value - how is a G6E $50K on the road?). When it comes to performance cars though thats a different case and I still think Ford offer the best option here in XR6T and would very much be keen on a supercharged V8 next year.

[merlin]

Also I don't get the Cruze - made in Korea, Holden reliability yuck. Lancer, Golf, 3 all seem much better options. (i did like the Astra though, that was a good car)

[Scott]

Originally Posted by snappy84

Ratt
I would like to hear your professional opinion on why Commodore sells better then the Falcon. Do you think its brand loyalty ,fleets, its better or the perception that its a aussie vehicle . Or maybe somthing else
I have my thoughts but they could not even be considerd a educated gues

Hey I'm not Ratt!! But thanks for asking anyways

Given the numbers above, why do you think the Commodore is outselling the Falcon? It would be nice to see the breakup of the Commodore range (ie, Sed/Wag) so we could get a clearer picture. If they sold a heap of wagons for the month then we may be closer than the numbers suggest - particularly when the Territory is counted as "falcon wagon".

[Road_Warrior]

Yes I'd like to see that too. I have a sneaking suspicion that the oft quoted point that the Sportswagon is robbing the Commodore sedan of sales/sedan sales are decreasing, is a fallacy.

[RATT]

Originally Posted by snappy84

Ratt
I would like to hear your professional opinion on why Commodore sells better then the Falcon. Do you think its brand loyalty ,fleets, its better or the perception that its a aussie vehicle . Or maybe somthing else
I have my thoughts but they could not even be considerd a educated gues

It would be brand loyalty and fleets. More and more it is fleets as retail sales for both are nowhere near as good as they were even 6-7 yrs ago.

The best way to tell what brands are strong on fleet/ rentals is if the figures move up and down sporadically.
EG: Car A sells 3000 units in June, and then fades to 1200 in July. Back up to 3500, then down to 1900..
I know that the top three manufacturers have reasonable amount of sales to rental companies.
Hope that explains it alittle.

[R-Design]

Originally Posted by XplosiveR6

Not surprised about those cruze numbers, its obviously taken all the sales from Astra and quite abit from the Commodore too, all up they're sales are way down.

Agree completely, when you look at the figures year to year they're not so bad:

Ford

Ford Focus (2008) 1116
Ford Focus (2009) 1154

Variance + 1%

Ford Falcon (2008) 2708
Ford Falcon (2009) 2449

Variance -10%

Holden

2008 - Holden Small Cars
Holden Viva 388
Holden Astra 1615
Holden Astra Convertible 59
Total 2062

2009 - Holden Small Cars
Holden Cruze 1971
Holden Astra 232
Holden Astra Convertible 23
Holden Viva 4
Total 2230

Variance +8%

Holden Commodore 2008 4814
Holden Commodore 2009 3329

Variance -30%

We'll see how many Commodore sales are being lost to Cruze once the MY10 comes on stream.

[R-Design]

Originally Posted by Joe5619

Fantastic point & I agree 100%.. The biggest problem for Ford is turning this around & the process starts with good decision making (which I think they are starting to make), but it will take 10-15 years to turn this around. Same long process, but in reverse. It simiply wont happen over night or even over 1-2 years. And will take more than just releasing a better new model (eg: FG Falcon, festa)

15 years! Lol.

Does anyone remember what the '3' & Zoom Zoom did for Mazda? Product led recoveries with strong branding are the best ways to turn a profit. I a few years Mazda have gone from zero to hero; I believe Ford is on the same path.

People have got to realise that Ford is not a price leader in the market and as such won’t top the sales charts. That doesn’t mean they can’t be successful.

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by Boss315

15 years! Lol.

Does anyone remember what the '3' & Zoom Zoom did for Mazda? Product led recoveries with strong branding are the best ways to turn a profit. I a few years Mazda have gone from zero to hero; I believe Ford is on the same path.

People have got to realise that Ford is not a price leader in the market and as such won’t top the sales charts. That doesn’t mean they can’t be successful.

Having a product that is well made and a dealer network (and manufacturer) that will stand behind the product is just as important.

[Joe5619]

Originally Posted by Boss315

15 years! Lol.

Does anyone remember what the '3' & Zoom Zoom did for Mazda? Product led recoveries with strong branding are the best ways to turn a profit. I a few years Mazda have gone from zero to hero; I believe Ford is on the same path.

People have got to realise that Ford is not a price leader in the market and as such won’t top the sales charts. That doesn’t mean they can’t be successful.

How do you explain the Falcon & especially the Fiesta & Mondo getting flogged by competitors every month when the product is clearly better?

[R-Design]

Originally Posted by Joe5619

How do you explain the Falcon & especially the Fiesta & Mondo getting flogged by competitors every month when the product is clearly better?

Falcon – Sedan sales are on par with Commodore in a shrinking market. Is that a failure?

Fiesta – 37% up on 2008. Is that a failure? Price up a Getz versus a Fiesta and then understand why they sell better.

Mondeo – Camry is built in Australia and sold primarily to Fleets, it won’t be beaten by an import. If you look at private sales Mondeo’s not far behind Accord Euro, Mazda 6 or Liberty, all great cars.

Read the last line of my post again before you head back to ls1.com.au

[irlewy86]

Originally Posted by Joe5619

How do you explain the Falcon & especially the Fiesta & Mondo getting flogged by competitors every month when the product is clearly better?

How do you explain GM being the world's largest car company for so long and still going bankrupt. :

[R-Design]

Originally Posted by Road_Warrior

Having a product that is well made and a dealer network (and manufacturer) that will stand behind the product is just as important.

I completely agree with respect to keeping customers loyal to the brand. If Ford successfully builds vehicles according to the following philosophy they’ll have no trouble:

Irresistible Design
Great to sit in, great to drive
Sustainability
Innovation and Technology
Built to Last