Following its announced decision to stop sales of future sedan models in North America, Ford could risk losing its customers to some of its rivals when the time comes to trade for a newer vehicle, according to a Cox Automotive study. A survey conducted for the study found that many Ford owners will likely buy their next vehicle from a rival make.
“Ford’s got some work to do in terms of clearing up the message to owners of these vehicles if they want any shot of keeping them. They need to do some educating,” said Autotrader (part of Cox Automotive) analyst Michelle Krebs. Models to be phased out over the coming years include the Fiesta, Fusion and Taurus. Of those surveyed, 10% said they would buy a new Ford crossover or SUV, 5% said they would get a Mustang and 3% said they would buy a Ford pick-up truck.
The sample size was small, according to Automotive News – just 104 out of 2,697 responders were Ford owners – although it notes that the findings highlights the problem Ford faces as it shuffles its model line-up. Though the sedans will be replaced by new models at similar price points, it appears customers might not understand the approach, the report said.
Of the owners who traded in a Ford Fusion, for example, 53% have gone on to a different brand, according to data from Kelley Blue Book; these customers are more likely opt for a Honda Accord, Civic or CR-V, Toyota Camry or RAV4.
Historic rival General Motors sees a chance for it to capitalise on Ford’s move, the report notes. “We see a terrific opportunity to forge new and stronger customer relationships with such a broad portfolio,” said General Motors vice president of US sales operations Kurt McNeil.
The VP says that GM considers sedans to be crucial to the group’s product line-up as they “typically offer very good safety, comfort, fuel economy and a lower total cost of ownership” compared to other types of vehicles. Having said that, Ford president of global markets Jim Farley thinks the Blue Oval can ‘tempt some of those customers with an image upgrade’.
“Where Ford does best is where we play to our strength of emotional products,” Farley said, whilst acknowledging the risk associated with leaving the sedan segment, especially at the entry-level segment.
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I don’t know all that noise about Ford leaving cars, but people change their mind and I did. I had a car (Fusion) and I was going to change it for another one but the saler ask me if I had drive a SUV before and l sais no. So he proposed to me to try one and I did and I’m so happy that I did because I bought an Edge sport and I will never return to a car. People must be open mind and realize that there is something more than car. And a survey mean nothing because they do not know yet what’s gone replace the cars and I’m sure that Ford will propose something that will be very well thought out.
I think this isn’t a smart move, sometimes we can’t just drop the non profitable product to cut cost and forgotten your supporter and the brand reputation. There are many way to keep the sedans alive. Example longer life cycle by having more Face-lift models, partner with great company to share the chassis platform (Ford can reuse the SUV platform too), less excessive in each model variant, Ford sometimes introduced too much… A bit lost in focus the target consumer.
Global marketing and distributor are not doing things right, I’m sure Malaysia is one of the affected. So please do something to get to the right track.
Good luck!