Falcon wagon endures... for now

Ford Australia's CEO and President Marin Burela is a happy man. The Falcon sedan has outsold the Commodore sedan for the second month in a row and Falcon market share has increased as its rival's share shrinks.

But there is a tough decision looming for Ford -- the future of the Falcon wagon.

While all FG Falcon variants have been sales successes in 2009, the BF Mk III wagons haven't been able to match Holden Sportwagon sales. The Falcon wagons use the previous generation Falcon setup, and the engine will not pass the Euro IV emission standards that come into effect in mid 2010.

Ford is believed to be mulling over its options, which include canning the Falcon wagon and relying on the Mondeo wagon (and possibly Territory) to fill the gap. The problem is that convincing fleet buyers not to jump ship to the Holden Sportwagon, a car closer to the Falcon wagon in its nature than the Mondeo, will be easier said than done.

Burela firmly believes the Mondeo wagon is better than Holden Sportwagon, but will fleet buyers agree? The Mondeo doesn't offer the rear-wheel drive and six-cylinder muscle that fleets traditionally prefer in the Falcon wagon. If towing is a priority for Falcon buyers, the Mondeo will struggle to fill that gap, leaving the Territory as the only card Ford has up its sleeve.

Though the Ford boss had previously stated that an announcement would be made late 2009 or early 2010 concerning the Falcon wagon's future, he told the Carsales Network that for the time being, the Falcon wagon and Mondeo wagon will sell alongside one another.

Asked if the Mondeo and Falcon wagons can co-exist, Burela said "The evidence suggests we can have both."

However this co-existence flies in the face of comments he made in November, when he said "The great challenge that we have there is to make sure that we're not competing with ourselves in the actual market [with Mondeo and Falcon wagons]"

There is also a (very) slim chance that Ford might develop an FG Falcon wagon to combat the Holden Sportwagon, but this would be an expensive venture and one that wouldn't solve the short term problem of losing market share if and when the Falcon wagon is canned.

We'll just have to sit tight and wait a little longer for the official announcement on the Falcon wagon.

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