Ford Australia says it can’t afford an export version of its Territory large SUV

[csv8]

Ford Australia says it can’t afford an export version of its Territory large SUV

19 April 2013

By BARRY PARK

AN EXPORT version of Ford’s Territory would need a significant investment even before a customer is found, the car-maker has warned.

Federal opposition leader Tony Abbott last night repeated a call for the Australian car-maker to develop a left-hand-drive model of its large soft-roader to turn it into a “world car” and help the company earn valuable export dollars.

Earlier in the week, he said the lack of an export program for the car “breaks my heart”.

However, Ford Australia communications and public affairs director Sinead Phipps said the government would need to dig back into the public purse to help it get a Territory export program off the ground.

“It would require significant investment, obviously,” Ms Phipps told GoAuto. “But even more than the investment there needs to be a customer for it, a market it can be exported to to allow for it to be priced at the right position as well.

“It would be a significant program to do something like that and at this stage there is no plan because we don’t have any of those three components lined up.”

Ford’s Territory was not part of the car-maker’s plans to develop a left-hand-drive version of the Falcon, announced about the same time as the Australian car-maker revealed in 2006 it would develop the light commercial vehicle that eventually evolved into the Ford Ranger and Mazda BT-50.

However, the Falcon export program fell over in 2007 after Ford announced it would build the Focus small car in Australia and funding for the large family sedan’s left-hand-drive conversion was diverted to the small car program.

Mrs Phipps said a decision to decline an offer of “co-investment opportunities to create left-hand-drive cars for export” from the then Rudd government was “complicated”.

“At that point (in about 2006) we had talked about the potential for doing a left-hand-drive version of Falcon – not Territory.

“Then in 2008 when we announced the Focus was coming here, we diverted the finding from a left-hand-drive Falcon to the Focus program.

“Obviously the Focus program didn’t end up going ahead, but it was more a redirection of funds rather than a rejection.”

Ms Phipps said Mr Abbott’s call to export the Territory showed that there was support for the Australian car industry.

“But as I said, there would be a lot of components that need to line up, and there are no plans for us to do it at this stage.”

Ford does have a small export program for its Territory, under which it is sold in several right-hand-drive countries in the Asia Pacific region.

Its latest deal was a group of 100 high-specification, diesel-engined Territory Titaniums shipped to Thailand, where local pricing pushed the price tag of the almost $60,000 vehicle up to just under the equivalent of $100,000 once it reached Thai showrooms.
http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...257B52001C093F

[blackf6]

Australia needs to make it harder for vehicles to be imported into this country.

[Uncle Tone]

The government needs to allow aussie car companies to sell their cars here for the same price as they would sell them in America.

[Road_Warrior]

I can't see how or why they can't export the Territory to India for example. It is developing into a huge new car market.

[bigsta]

never thought i would agree with abbot on something but yep the falcon and territory are world leaders really and i see no reason why they should not be exported.

And for that matter i really dont see why they have to spend so much money developing LHD versions, a little bit of forward thought in the design process would make it even easier like holden did but still it cant cost more then a few million to redesign the dash, steering rack and firewall, brakes and accelerator are all electronic now anyway so no heavy engineering required there.

Heres an idea use the electronic power steering module they already use in the focus i think and that will save a bomb in engineering costs.

[mik]

I think our cars would need a bit more kit in them to have any chance,over the pond.

[Brazen]

What kind of statement is that "it's all a bit too hard"???

They should be using all this talk by Abbott and the media to build momentum in providing government assistance. This is a perfect opportunity to have government help fund content upgrades like HID headlamps, proximity keys, sunroof etc and LHD so that the Territory has the necessary features to participate in other markets as a premium SUV. This trickle down of features would obviously also help domestically.

I would have said:

"Ford is always on the lookout for export opportunities for its locally manufactured range of world class cars. Sizeable exports for Falcon and Territory requires significant investment in hardware and content to make the vehicles appropriate for other world markets, so we at Ford welcome the talk of government assistance to help boost exports which will have positive impacts on the automotive industry and the Australian economy"

[SJG351]

Can anyone say what the cost(manufacturing price) of either the falcon or the territory are? bare bones break even numbers? If you dont have a cost effective product, how can you expect to make any margin at point of sale? The number of cars we are talking about means there must be a decent margin for it to be a worthwhile process, end of story. Either the way we make our cars must become more cost effective to allow for a better profit margin, or the company will have to consider other business options, Maybe Ford Australia could swing a deal to make RHD Fusion and Mustang products? at least they would be part of the bigger picture and that should mean support from head office, the government could become the big issue with that idea i am thinking!

[Brazen]

I think there is a place for Territory in the Ford world. Outside the US the largest Ford SUV is the Kuga 5 seater compact SUV.

In Ford showrooms I think there is a place for a larger 7 seater premium Territory in Ecoboost and diesel flavours. It fills the space above Kuga in Ford's Europe and Asian showrooms. I could see it doing well in Russia too.

[1TUFFUTE]

it just seams to make so much sense to get such an amazing car into the rest of the world markets.....the car deserves it.

[davistev]

There is something that really needs to be clear here - it is that most of the countries in our region that would use the Territory have extremely high import taxes for vehicles that are either built outside of the ASEAN region or have more than 4 cylinders (India comes to mind here).

The ASEAN free trade treaty to which Australia is party to eliminated duties for vehicles coming into Australia but the stooges who negotiated this deal did not ensure that Australian car manufacturers would get the same deal. In some cases, tarriffs would not be removed until 2025 and in some cases, not at all. They were more concerned with access to their natural resources by Australian mining companies.

Australia essentially buggered the Auto industry. one option is to retool the Australian Auto industry to become assembly plants only. All parts manufactured overseas and imported into Australia purchased using the high Australian dollar and assembled to final product here. Unfortunately, that would also essentially mean the closing down of the manufacturing base built up around the car industry.

Alternatively, we could grow some balls and impose import duties on all products from countries that have duties on our goods. It is a common way to protect a local market. Essentially this means that Australia would impose duties on all vehicles imported from Thailand at the same rate as our vehicles would be taxed if exported to Thailand. We argue that it is in the spirit of the ASEAN agreement that all tariffs be reduced.

Otherwise - kiss Aussie cars goodbye.

[Thunder]

Originally Posted by csv8

.....Federal opposition leader Tony Abbott last night repeated a call for the Australian car-maker to develop a left-hand-drive model of its large soft-roader to turn it into a “world car” and help the company earn valuable export dollars.........

I did not realise Australia was the only RHD country in the world!!!!!

Small steps perhaps? Pleanty of RHD countries could use the Territory first!

[SumoDog68]

Originally Posted by Thunder

I did not realise Australia was the only RHD country in the world!!!!!

Small steps perhaps? Pleanty of RHD countries could use the Territory first!

Japan , UK ,South Africa are major RHD countries - UK and South Africa are a possibilty , Japan probably not.
LHD market is much larger.

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by Thunder

I did not realise Australia was the only RHD country in the world!!!!!

Small steps perhaps? Pleanty of RHD countries could use the Territory first!

Map of RHD & LHD countries.

[Road_Warrior]

And India.

The thing that ***** me is that the Territory platform is scalable - because the car it borrows from is. Width and length. So they could (if given free reign and a blank cheque) develop a small, medium and large SUV from the one platform and all of them would have the same characteristics as the Terri - i.e. class leading handling and rock solid powertrains.

Imagine a Kuga sized Territory with the 2.0 Ecoboost and a 2.0L turbo diesel?

Or a 200 Landcruiser sized Territory but with far more efficient engines (Lion 4.4 TD V8 or the 4.0L I6) with much better road manners?

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by SumoDog68

Japan , UK ,South Africa are major RHD countries - UK and South Africa are a possibilty , Japan probably not.
LHD market is much larger.

Unfortunately, all of those countries either have significant import tariffs and taxes against
engine capacity or like South Africa, protect their own locally built products like Ranger..
India has a 60% tariff on imported vehicles..Commonwealth countries should have FTAs with each other

Ford has knocked on all the doors many times but the answer keeps coming back, no thanks.

[Bossxr8]

I read it as Detroit won't give us a market to sell too, nor do they care wether we shut or not. They have only tolerated FoA in the past because they made some money on relatively small budgets. With that not likely happening they won't tolerate it for too long.

With the Explorer going on sale in Asia soon its pretty clear the US will protect their own interests like they always do. Territory is just an inconvenience for them.

[Dr Smith]

What's the point of Ford Oz spending money (it doesn't have) building a LHD export version of the Territory for sale in countries where due to their trade barriers/import tariffs/taxes they become BMW X5 priced vehicles. And then you have the Explorer already LHD built on a lower cost structure already available.

For all the criticism of Ford Australia lets not forget it's their own jobs on the line as well. Holden's export program didn't last too long when the Aust. dollar was low and then came the GFC, what makes people think Ford can flick a switch and suddenly start selling a LHD Terry in these times where the $Aust is so high and it's parent company has one rolling down the line now.

[tweeked]

Abbott is wasting his time talking to Ford Oz - they dont make any decisions.

If he was fairdunkum, or had a clue, he would be flying to Detroit to talk to FOA. But I think he would struggle to get an appointment with the coffee lady.......

[arronm]

Just get the government to pay for the extra investment. HOLDEN did.

[FGII-XR6]

to me this looks like Ford asking for development money without actually asking. Hint at the possibility of an employment creating export program and the pollies will be falling over themselves with promises of cash after all it's an election year.

[samos]

The good: Abbot is positively speaking about *growing* Territory's access to foreign markets. This is a good change as compared to other rhetoric that we've heard from the blue Feds, it recognises a capable car and a capable organisation.

The bad: trying to get to LHD markets is a very long process, didn't Holden take many years to get their platforms and finally vehicles through? And iirc, falcon/terry platform hasn't got LHD designed in.

The ugly: the d*mn idiots that allowed an uneven FTA (wtf is that?) covering autos with the natural same side driving countries. They have an uphill battle now to convince not only foreign govts that this aspect of uneven tariffs and non tarrif barriers should be renegotiated (is that even possible?), but fomoco as well.... An uphill battle from down under indeed...

[Crazy Dazz]

Originally Posted by Brazen

I think there is a place for Territory in the Ford world. Outside the US the largest Ford SUV is the Kuga 5 seater compact SUV.

In Ford showrooms I think there is a place for a larger 7 seater premium Territory in Ecoboost and diesel flavours. It fills the space above Kuga in Ford's Europe and Asian showrooms. I could see it doing well in Russia too.

One of the overriding problems is the change in direction we have seen in The Falcon & Territory.
With the right protection, investment, and export enhancement, I firmly believe there was/is a NICHE market out there for some of our Home Grown “Bang for Buck” models. Most notably the defunct territory turbo, and the XR6 Turbo, maybe even the GT. The EcoLPI could also do very well in markets where LPG is emerging as a fuel.
I’d made the point that an international niche market could still be a substantial boost to their current low number sin Australia.
If you could land a TT in Europe for half the price of a Tiguan or Cayenne, it would generate a following. Unfortunately the current TTD, with its decade old Land Rover engine, would be laughed at in Europe.
It’s the same with the Falcon; nobody is going to want an EB, probably not even a basic I6, but the turbo & GT could be very price competitive.

However I do believe there are opportunities for our “prestige’ models in some of the emerging economies. Where there is no local competition, and Mercs & Beemers are still bloody expensive.

[new2ford]

Originally Posted by Crazy Dazz

If you could land a TT in Europe for half the price of a Tiguan or Cayenne, it would generate a following. Unfortunately the current TTD, with its decade old Land Rover engine, would be laughed at in Europe.

The build quality would thwart it in Europe too, it's below what would be expected.

[Brazen]

The 2.7 diesel is still used in the Land Rover Discovery. The build quality of SZ is much improved - they are as tight as a drum.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by Brazen

The 2.7 diesel is still used in the Land Rover Discovery. The build quality of SZ is much improved - they are as tight as a drum.

I think you'll find the 2.7 is no longer available in Disco4 and is now replaced by a 155 Kw version of the 3.0 V6

[FNQracing]

Probably way too late to look at exporting Territory now anyway. The platform is dated, and styling way too conservative for overseas. Terry looks too much like a 2000 model Escape.

A new model would be another story. I doubt we'll see another one.

[Dr Smith]

Originally Posted by jpd80

I think you'll find the 2.7 is no longer available in Disco4 and is now replaced by a 155 Kw version of the 3.0 V6

Do you know who else uses the 2.7v6?

[stace650]

My mate lives in Thailand and says the Territory is available there. He's seen posters for them at Ford dealers. It's grossly expensive though and he's never seen one on the road. They make Toyotas in Thailand and a Terry 2 wheel drive is more expensive than a Prado equivalent.

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by trublu

Map of RHD & LHD countries.

How did they forget the mighty nation of Malta!!!