China car market may need 'Two Fords'
own standards, these investments are aggressive," said Ashvin Chotai, managing director of Intelligence Automotive Asia.
"But it's not going to make a big dent in China," he added.
"There needs to be flexibility around their global strategy to make it effective in China.
"FORD'S ORIGINAL VISION
Mulally's "One Ford" plan helped avert bankruptcy in 2009, and the company is drawing from the same playbook to restructure its European operations, which are expected to lose at least $3 billion over the next two years.Under "One Ford," overall product development became two-thirds more efficient from 2006 to 2012, Ford has said.
Mulally's insistence on developing global cars harkens back to Henry Ford's Model T, which was exported around the world in 1913. The 1915 model sold for just over $700 in China, at a time when rivals were charging around $2,000.But Ford's fortunes in the country waned after the automaker bypassed an offer from modern China's founder, Sun Yat-sen, to help the country build an indigenous auto industry in 1924.Nearly a century later, Ford's brand identity is one obstacle in China, said Shaun Rein, author of "The End of Cheap China" and a corporate consultant in the country. The high cost of Ford's lineup is another hurdle.
The Fiesta, Ford's cheapest model, starts at $12,300. About one-fifth of China vehicle sales this year were priced less than $12,000, according to J.D. Power and Associates.
Next year, Ford will launch the Fiesta-based Ecosport compact, which will be the lowest-priced SUV in its portfolio.
Ford also plans to introduce "several low-cost models,"
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