Ken Gratton•30 Sept 2014
NEWS
Ford: Brand building trumps racing
V8 Supercars decision due by end of the season, but Ford Australia is focussed on brand revitalisationFord Australia remains committed to a brand image centred around performance and motorsport, but that image has been sullied in recent times by its dwindling monetary support for V8 Supercar teams and speculation that Ford will withdraw all support for the category in the lead-up to the end of local manufacturing in 2016.
The Blue Oval currently only backs Ford Performance Racing, which has begun preliminary work on new-for-2015 race cars based on Ford's final FG X Falcon as it continues to negotiate a deal with Ford Australia.
And despite a recent "welcome home" message on its Facebook page, Ford Australia is not expected to support the return to V8 Supercars of Marcos Ambrose, who will contest the 2015 championship in a Penske-backed Dick Johnson Racing Falcon after nine years' racing NASCARs in the US.
Responding to questions concerning Ford's ongoing participation in the national touring car category, Ford Australia's Communications & Public Affairs Director, Wes Sherwood, told motoring.com.au an announcement about Ford's V8 Supercar involvement would be made by the conclusion of this year's championship, which ends in Sydney on December 7.
"We plan to discuss our near-term plans by the end of this season – which is coming up pretty quick – so we will have more to say soon on that. But we are certainly committed to performance, as part of our heritage..." he said.
Among the rumours that have circulated in recent times is the possibility that future V8 Supercars regs would allow car companies to enter silhouette coupes rather than sedans.
Ford's launch of the latest Mustang, which will come to Australia in right-hand drive form next year, provides the local arm with a ready-made hero car to step into the gap left by the locally-built V8 Falcon. And it's not like the Mustang has never been an entrant in an Australian touring car category; just ask Allan Moffat...
"With Mustang, obviously that sort of takes the torch," said Sherwood during the global launch of Ford's latest Mustang in California last week.
"But looking at where the market's going, we've also got ST models in the line-up. Specifically, on racing, I just can't say much right now, but we will have more to say soon."
The ST reference hints that Ford Australia may see a future in rallying with the Focus or Fiesta, but rallying is a niche category of motorsport competition in Australia. It has none of the drawing power of V8 Supercars.
Alternatively, perhaps there's an ST version of the Mondeo – the largest sedan Ford will sell in Australia post-Falcon – in Ford Australia's future, and perhaps that car could be the body wrapped around the V8SC roll cage for racing. The Mondeo, which is badged in North America as the Fusion, is already Ford's choice in NASCAR – another silhouette formula of racing.
Opting for the Mondeo or the Mustang to carry Ford's standard in V8SC would depend on brand image – and where Ford wants it to be.
Should it be the semi-boutique brand of dynamically capable cars for discerning drivers, or should it be the volume-selling brand that will remain in the top five companies selling cars in Australia? If it's the former, Ford would naturally campaign the Mustang, but if it's the latter, the Mondeo would be the chosen one.
That is why, when asked hypothetically, which model Ford would choose – assuming it remains committed to V8SC, Sherwood couldn't supply a definitive answer.
"We honestly haven't gotten there. A lot of options are on the table; we're in the middle of transforming the brand, and that is really from the ground floor all the way up. The company is just changing.
"So we're focused on transforming the company, and as we get into more specifics around whatever may be performance or the rest of the vehicle line-up into the future, we'll talk more about that later.
"Certainly [there is] a lot of opportunity, but at the core of it we've got to fix the brand – and that's what has been challenging for us."
Ford Australia is taking a problem – the end of local manufacturing – and trying to formulate a resolution that reads better on paper. Selling more cars is the obvious goal, but Ford appears hamstrung by the two equally inviting paths: take share off Toyota, or take some prestige gloss off Volkswagen. The decision will be critical to the company's success in Australia, and has ramifications for its part in V8 Supercars.
"If we don't fix the brand," Sherwood admitted, "then [we] don't have the base to do everything else we'd like to do."
Picture courtesy Graham Ruckert/Wikimedia Commons
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Ford
Falcon
Mondeo
Mustang
Car News
Performance Cars
Written byKen Gratton
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