Ford contemplates future for Falcon Wagon

Ford Australia hopes that the Mondeo wagon will provide an alternative for buyers otherwise attracted to Holden's Commodore Sportwagon. That's the mid-sized Ford's primary role -- one that the current BF Series III Falcon wagon was never designed to handle.

And it's not just private buyers that Ford hopes to attract with the two-box Mondeo. The company has made no secret of its plan to address the needs of fleets with the medium-segment model. If that strategy works -- and the Mondeo begins to take sales away from its aging stablemate -- Ford is thus in a position to pull the plug on the Falcon wagon.

In an earlier report, the Carsales Network speculated that the Falcon wagon might be quietly euthanised, rather than Ford funding an upgrade of the AU-era design in order to meet the upcoming Euro IV emissions standard next year. Now, with the news that Ford will field a diesel Mondeo wagon later this year or early next year, the Falcon wagon seems to be living on borrowed time more than ever.

Ford may prefer to reduce the complexity of manufacturing three product lines to two -- with further implicit simplification if/when the Territory migrates to FG Falcon drivetrain components for Euro IV compliance. With the way the FG sedan has been selling in larger numbers, particularly the higher-profit XR and G Series models, perhaps Ford is seeing the formation of a business case that concentrates marketing, engineering and manufacturing effort on those cars and the Territory.

So, during the media launch for the new Mondeo range, we asked Sinead McAlary, Ford's Communications Manager to update us on the status of the Falcon wagon.

"At this stage, we're currently evaluating what we're doing with Falcon wagon..." she said, but explained that she wasn't in a position to announce anything further on that front. She did, however, say that a lot is riding on the Mondeo.

"Without saying that's going to happen -- that's not where we're at yet -- the Mondeo wagon is fabulous... It's got more retail upmarket customer appeal than Falcon wagon does," she said.

"Falcon wagon is purely fleet. About 99 per cent of it is fleet [sales]. We anticipate that the Mondeo wagon will attract a lot more private customers, but we are also planning to use it to target some fleets as well... some fleets who might prefer a smaller wagon -- and put it up against the Holden competitor [Sportwagon].

McAlary disagreed with the assertion that the Falcon wagon won't be missed and is not the iconic product that an XR8 sedan is.

"Falcon wagon does very well in the used-car market -- with families -- but Falcon wagon is [also] very popular with the fleets... because it delivers them exactly what they want..." she said.

"If we were ever going to do an alternative to that, we would have to try and find a real alternative to that, so we're currently evaluating what our options are."

If the Falcon wagon's time has come, it's not like it lived fast and died young. McAlary agrees that the car has surprised even its maker for its longevity in the marketplace.

"We thought Falcon wagon would go away in 2004 with the Territory -- and it didn't, because as fabulous a vehicle as the Territory is, it didn't do what the fleet customers who were buying the Falcon wagon wanted it to..."

There is another option for Ford to canvass. Since the Territory is well packaged and will have to comply with Euro IV, no matter what, would Ford consider a 'reverse-Adventra' solution? Turn the SUV into a rear-wheel-drive-only, liquid-injection LPG-fuelled, five-seat load-lugger to capture the market left by the absence of a Falcon wagon?

"Yeah, we could... but we're not..." McAlary said, laughing.

"It's all about putting the resources where you're going to get the best value."

That then suggests that Ford has two options only: re-jig Falcon or replace it with Mondeo. And when it comes to degree of difficulty, which is harder? Gaining approval from Dearborn for a major engineering project to upgrade an elderly wagon? Or convincing your fleet buyers to purchase a leaner-running, better handling car that's comparable in size with the older car?

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