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NEWS
SUVs to revive Ford Australia's fortunes
As SUV sales continue to boom around the world, Ford plans to expand local offeringIf there's demand for more SUVs models in Australia, Ford will bring them here, which means vehicles such as the new Ford Edge and Explorer SUV.
That's the word from Dave Schoch, the President of Ford Asia Pacific, the region in which Australia resides. Schoch has told motoring.com.au that Ford would look at importing more models to Australia to turn around a seven year sales slump.
Since 2008, global SUV sales have risen by an astonishing 88 per cent, as more customers latch on to the increasingly versatile and varied high-riding wagons.
Although Ford's sales are down slightly in 2014, SUV sales in Australia up almost 30 per cent year on year. Love them or hate them, SUVs are here to stay and look likely to exert more influence on car makers.
Ford Australia currently has the three SUVs in its range, the compact EcoSport, the medium-sized Kuga and the large seven-seat Territory. The all-new Everest (pictured) will arrive later in 2015 and it, along with at least another SUV, possibly two, are expected to flesh out Ford's range as it seeks to end almost a decade of sales decline.
Year on year, Ford's sales are down 6.2 per cent to the end of October, but Ford's Asia Pacific regional boss says the sales turnaround is "coming" and will driven by new products.
"We're in a transitionary period right now but I'm confident the vehicles we bring in from our global product portfolio will help. We've got more product coming," said Schoch.
As well as relying on the new Everest to get sales back into the black, and several other significant model updates in 2015 including the Focus, Ranger and Mondeo, the Blue Oval is on the lookout for a new large SUV to replace the Territory, a job that won't be fulfilled by the Everest. That's because the Everest is unlikely to offer the refinement and car-like comfort of the Territory, instead focussing on towing and offroad prowess.
motoring.com.au asked the Ford chief if we would see more SUVs, specifically the Ford Edge and Explorer in Australia, to fill the void left by Territory when it's retired in 2016. He said "It's difficult to talk about future plans," but refused to rule them out.
"I can say that we will continue to look at customer needs and wants in Australia and then take look at our global product portfolio and how can we import vehicles to satisfy those needs. We look at the market demand first, then make decisions," he responded.
He admitted that new product would be the driving force behind Ford Australia's return to positive sales numbers and to "watch this space".
It remains to be seen whether SUVs will be Ford Australia's saving grace, with sales of the Territory down by around 27 per cent year on year, and the new EcoSport compact SUV comfortably outsold by its Holden Trax rival, by a factor of more than two to one. However the Ford Kuga has proved popular in 2014, with sales up by 60 per cent.
Available in an almost inconceivable variety of body styles, the SUV is a far different beast than it was a couple of decades ago, when the term SUV didn't exist, only 4WDs did. Today there are two-door coupe-like models, high-performance machines and ultra-compact versions, fuelling the appetite for SUVs, which continues to be one of the fastest growing vehicle types across the planet.
"As any good business we're always looking at opportunities to satisfy customer tastes in any market," observed Schoch.
"We've announced Everest here, we are bringing Mustang, we'll continue to leverage our global product portfolio and bring in products we believe will appeal to customers," he said.
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Written byFeann Torr
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