Mulally shies away from Aussie question

Opinion

Alan Mulally, Ford Motor Company President and CEO, is a man who knows how to move people. Take a moment to consider that most Americans travel by road or by air in something Mulally has been directly involved in either its design or manufacturer while at Ford or as an engineer at Boeing.

It is easy to argue that Mulally, more than Henry Ford, has significantly influenced global transportation. When it comes to bums on seats and travel, Mulally is the main man. In discussions during this year’s Detroit Motor Show, Mulally happily fielded question after question about Ford and its future. He optimistically predicted the US vehicle market for 2014 would continue to grow and reach 16 to 17 million vehicle sales.

Following the reveal of Ford’s new aluminium F-150 pickup, he praised the lightweight qualities and durability of aluminium and hinted that more of it would be used in future Ford products.

He talked also about the globalisation of Ford’s product range, expanding production in Russia, Brazil and China and how the Ford Company has improved the economies of countries in which it manufactures.

But amid the discussion points, Mulally was quite vague when asked specifically about manufacturing in Australia and Ford Australia closing its manufacturing facilities. “Australia is going where Australia is going with its tariffs and decisions, and we’ll continue to serve Australian customers with a range of products.” Beyond that he would not nor would any of Ford’s senior executives provide clarity on the near future of Ford Australia and its product range.

Ford is yet to confirm beyond Mustang which of its American-made vehicles will make the voyage to Australia in right-hand drive. Ford remains tight lipped, to the frustration of Ford dealers in Australia, as to which SUV will replace Territory. We’ve speculated the logical choice will be the new, good-looking Edge, but Mulally would not confirm right-hand drive production. Nor will Ford confirm RHD production of Explorer and Taurus, which share the same platform.

A handful of boutique Mustangs in RHD will arrive sometime in 2015, but Ford is yet to announce specific models sourced from North America for sale in the period following the closure of Broadmeadows. Until then, it risks losing the loyalty of Australian customers who have supported the brand in the past by purchasing the locally-built Falcon and Territory.

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