Vfacts January 2011 - Page 7

vztrt · 09-02-2011, 12:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpd80

Ramp up?
I thought Territory was made to order these days...

There would be new processes that need to learned/refined. Then there would be extra checks post PDA (pre delivery area) to make sure the customer doesn't get a whole heap of early BA's.

**Fordman1** · 09-02-2011, 06:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

The next 2 have been cancelled and the one after that probably will too, and none scheduled for March, so I don't know where you're getting that from, especially with Territory coming on line next month why would they have down days in March?

Powertrain are working this Friday.

The Assembly plant is NOT - so cars aren't being built.

As I said, the downdays are still scheduled !

**Silver Ghia** · 09-02-2011, 08:02 AM

To sell more cars, firstly Ford really needs to fix up their dealer service dept. poor reputation. Otherwise people will continue buying Mazda 2's over Fiestas etc which I know happens. And I mean fix it by having more competent staff, rather than just putting glossy posters on the walls saying how good it is. I have recently found first hand how lousy it is these days at my dealer.

Joe5619 · 09-02-2011, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nitro xr

To sell more cars, firstly Ford really needs to fix up their dealer service dept. poor reputation. Otherwise people will continue buying Mazda 2's over Fiestas etc which I know happens. And I mean fix it by having more competent staff, rather than just putting glossy posters on the walls saying how good it is. I have recently found first hand how lousy it is these days at my dealer.

I have found out first hand how good they actually are!! Personally I think people over state this problem. Most walk into a Ford dealer expecting bad things & then get it becuase of there own bad attittude!!

I'll also have a reason why BT50 does not sell anyway near as good a ranger seeing as you mention the Fiesta over 2??

vztrt · 09-02-2011, 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nitro xr

To sell more cars, firstly Ford really needs to fix up their dealer service dept. poor reputation. Otherwise people will continue buying Mazda 2's over Fiestas etc which I know happens. And I mean fix it by having more competent staff, rather than just putting glossy posters on the walls saying how good it is. I have recently found first hand how lousy it is these days at my dealer.

Funny I just dropped the work ute off at Toyota and in all seriousness I wouldn't go there. It was just lowsy and poorly set-up. At least the three Ford dealers in my area give you a decent impression when you rock up. Will see what its like when I go to get it this arvo.

**Silver Ghia** · 09-02-2011, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe5619

I have found out first hand how good they actually are!! Personally I think people over state this problem. Most walk into a Ford dealer expecting bad things & then get it becuase of there own bad attittude!!

I'll also have a reason why BT50 does not sell anyway near as good a ranger seeing as you mention the Fiesta over 2??

I'm not saying all Ford service depts are no good, its that there are a few around that give a poor reputation. Sounds like you're lucky having a good place to trust your your car with for a service. I just dont have any trust my dealer service dept anymore after what an incompetent mechanic (apprentice?) did.

**buggerlugs** · 09-02-2011, 03:30 PM

Mate just bought a new XR6 ute from our local dealer. $29,990.00 drive away, 2010 plate. Loves the car...............but , the Dealer. Got to sit down with the lovely lady trying to flog him off all the extras on the ute. Tinting, seat protection etc etc etc. Politely said no thanks. His finance company ring him as he had arranged finance for the purchase. They said to him, "Thought you were only spending $29,990.00" . He said , "I am, why ?" Dealer sent thru an invoice for $33,200.00 with all the extras that he didn't want. Ford nearly lost another sale..............

Bossxr8 · 11-02-2011, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barraxr8

Powertrain are working this Friday.

The Assembly plant is NOT - so cars aren't being built.

As I said, the downdays are still scheduled !

Your right. Engine plant having already downbalanced need to work to keep up.

1TUFFUTE · 11-02-2011, 10:45 PM

id love to see the sales split for the new Gs ans GTs for any of the months. All ive seen is actuall falcon sales which i assume are all inclusive of FPVs...???

Bossxr8 · 11-02-2011, 11:59 PM

FPV's are included in Falcon sales.

bobthebilda · 12-02-2011, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by buggerlugs

Mate just bought a new XR6 ute from our local dealer. $29,990.00 drive away, 2010 plate. Loves the car...............but , the Dealer. Got to sit down with the lovely lady trying to flog him off all the extras on the ute. Tinting, seat protection etc etc etc. Politely said no thanks. His finance company ring him as he had arranged finance for the purchase. They said to him, "Thought you were only spending $29,990.00" . He said , "I am, why ?" Dealer sent thru an invoice for $33,200.00 with all the extras that he didn't want. Ford nearly lost another sale..............

Arent they continually narrowing the gap where they can sell a car at full price. The point is that people who buy a falcon now are the ones who will buy in 3 years time. These people know that if i hold of till Jan, Feb, Mar, i could probably pick up a car plated the year before, for quite a large discount (the longer I wait, the bigger the discount). Ford on the other hand, start production back up at end on Jan, and are trying to sell a 2011 plated XR6 for mid 30's whilst also selling a 2010 plated for $29900. Come to July, they have had 5 months of production, but only a couple of sales month at full price, and then they start with the mid year sales. Then towards the end of the year, people start holding of again, waiting for the inevitable sales at start of new year for previous years plated cars.

I know a few of the sellers do it, but it seems to advertised much more prevalent with the local manufacturers.

But in all seriouness. if you are in an industry that operates in a JIT system, and you only make to order, how many cars can you really have plated 2010 in mid feb 2011. Because these cars arent demonstrators etc, as they would be advertised as such.

aualright · 13-02-2011, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phillyc

I love the I6, it's a brilliant engine. It is however really long. You could shave about 200mm going to I4T and V8 engines, more with a V6.

I have said it before but the idea of a Falcon 'compact' just like the original could be very appealing. A reduction in weight and length, but the same or better interior space. Have a sedan and wagon/hatch body style.

I have literally just stepped off a plane from the US and had the pleasure of driving a V6 Mustang convertible for a week around Los Angeles. As a promoter and fan of the I6 configuration due to its torque, I have to admit I was surprisingly impressed with the Ford V6.

It was a hire with 3000 odd miles on the clock and the mid-range acceleration was excellent. Most surprising was the engine note (even with roof on). It has to be the best sounding 6 I have ever heard.

I'm not saying it is quicker or slower than our venerable I6, but it had enough power to put a smile on my face especially when going from 65mph to 90mph.

Most cars on their freeways travel at 70+ mph (speed limit of 65mph) and this motor handled it with ease.

****

vztrt · 14-02-2011, 07:04 PM

Ute sales under pressure

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...257837000432EE

Quote:

Utilities to play key role in determining Ford and Holden’s local production future

14 February 2011

By TERRY MARTIN

THE attention on the Australian car industry remains as strong as ever this year, with crucial new model releases from all three local manufacturers amid continuing discussions at their respective head offices overseas about the future direction of their vehicles and manufacturing operations here.

This is heightened by the sales performance of their Australian-built models, most notably the crucial big-volume sedans (and in Holden’s case, wagon), which all recorded awful results in the first month of this year.

As GoAuto has reported, Ford’s Falcon slumped 50 per cent to a record low 1157 sales, Holden’s Commodore fell 18.4 per cent to 2645 units, and Toyota’s Camry (1057) and Aurion (654) also took hits of 12.0 and 25.1 per cent respectively. Holden’s Caprice was also down 40.8 per cent with just 61 new registrations for the month.

Of course, this is only the first month of the year, but it comes off another negative year for large Australian-built passenger cars – despite the industry returning to a million-unit market. Only Holden managed a positive result, thanks to the new VE Series II.

Many factors will be weighing on the minds of the decision-makers in Japan and the United States –profitability, expenditure, exports and so on – not just of the core models being built here, but the sales performance and future prospects of vehicles that are based on the same platform.

These include Ford’s Territory SUV and, crucially for both Ford and Holden, the passenger car-based two-door utilities.

Utes are easily overlooked in the context of how well Ford and Holden are travelling in local manufacturing terms, but the rise and fall of their sales over the past decade is significant.

As imported one-tonne utilities go from strength to strength, the Australian-built two-door utes have fallen steadily in the past five years to the point where the substantial growth experienced in the early years of this new millennium has been all but wiped out.

Ford has been hit the hardest with the Falcon Ute, but management is expecting a turnaround in sales fortune – for both utility and sedan – when the Blue Oval moves to a new-generation LPG system in the third quarter of this year.

A lack of supply of cars fitted with the current dedicated-LPG system – which makes up around 50 per cent of Falcon Ute sales – is being blamed for the current dent in overall Falcon sales volume.

The Falcon Ute’s 479 sales last month was on an even keel compared with the government tax incentive-fuelled January 2010, but the bigger picture is much bleaker.

As any effect of the tax breaks wore off last year, so too did sales, and Ford finished 2010 with just 9099 new ute registrations – down 25.3 per cent for the year and marking the first time the workhorse has fallen below 10,000 sales for more than a decade, the last time being 1998.

Back then, thanks to the new-generation AU series, Ford managed to increase its ute sales from less than 7000 units to almost 10,500 in 1999, before jumping to almost 14,000 sales in 2000. It continued to climb steadily during the first years of the new millennium with 17,000 sales in 2001, almost 18,000 the following year, then to more than 20,200 by 2003.

Its share of the 4x2 market also peaked during this period at 30 per cent in 2002 – almost double that of last year’s 15.4 per cent share, which was a low point that hadn’t been seen since at least the 1990s.

With Holden also rising during the last decade with its reborn VU (2000), VY (2002) and VZ (2004) utes, and new derivatives such as the 2003-07 Crewman four-door adding weight to the cause, Ford was forced to relinquish market leadership in 2004 and has been on a downward slide ever since.

Although the two brands have fought tooth-and-nail for ute market honours in recent years, Ford’s sales have fallen steadily over the period, down to 18,384 in 2005, to 15,858 the following year, 13,758 in 2007, then to 12,600 in 2008.

Tax incentives during 2009, which was deemed a success in stimulating light commercial vehicle sales, failed to prevent the Falcon falling further to 12,180, prior to last year’s major decline.

However, Holden has not been an obvious beneficiary of Ford’s sales downturn, experiencing its own sustained fall since it passed 20,000 ute sales for the first time in 2004 with a record 22,372 sales (including 1559 4x4 units with the short-lived 2003-2005 Crewman Cross 8).

From a low point of just 6361 sales in 2000, Holden rose steadily to pass 11,000 in the following year as the VU took off, was within striking distance of 14,000 in 2002 and past 17,200 a year later.

But it has never again passed the 22K mark it reached in 2004, falling to 20,200 in 2005, then to 14,000 in 2006 and just 11,520 the following year.

The General’s Aussie ute clawed back to 13,500 in 2008 as the new-generation VE made its mark, before slipping again to 12,100 as the economic downturn hit.

Again, federal tax breaks ensured the final result was not as damaging as it had appeared earlier in the year. The VE Ute was down 41.3 per cent by the end of the first quarter, for example, but finished 2009 just 10 per cent in arrears.

Last year it fell to 11,405 sales, down 5.8 per cent on the previous year – a decline that would presumably have been much more severe had the VE Series II not arrived.

Despite this, the Commodore-based utility fell 30.6 per cent last month with just 522 sales – a few more than Ford managed with the Falcon Ute, but certainly nothing to write home to Detroit about.

**Polyal** · 14-02-2011, 07:19 PM

Its just really bad product management to have such a gap between models...disappointing.

Part of the ute sales decline surely is dictated by the rise in "pickups" like the ranger, hilux et al.

Joe5619 · 14-02-2011, 07:51 PM

Interesting in that article they say 50% of ute sales were LPG.. What a massive stuff up the gap in LPG is..

vztrt · 14-02-2011, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe5619

Interesting in that article they say 50% of ute sales were LPG.. What a massive stuff up the gap in LPG is..

From 2006 LPG is very important to Ford.

Road_Warrior · 14-02-2011, 07:54 PM

It's like a self fulfilling prophecy isn't it...Ford are good at doing things like that...

jpd80 · 14-02-2011, 07:58 PM

FFS, Falcon Ute at 479 is only 43 sales behind the Commodore Ute (522)
This graph takes a lot of liberty with the truth by basing the 2011 sales figures on just 1 month.
In previous years, Falcon and Commodore ute sales have been neck and neck....

vztrt · 14-02-2011, 08:02 PM

Its 2011 now.

jpd80 · 14-02-2011, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vztrt

Its 2011 now.

I know, i know, just get annoyed with the constant screwing of facts and graphics by "Holden friendly" media.
I'm sure that with LPG, the Falcon Ute would have easily gone past the Commodore ute ...
And then we would have had some lame excuse about treating the Commodore Ute wit kid gloves
because it's more Australian than the Falcon...(throws arms in air, walks away in disgust..)

vztrt · 14-02-2011, 08:13 PM

I agree mate. The ute sales suffered after July last year. I wonder why??

What is surprising is the low numbers by a full model ute line-up.

jpd80 · 14-02-2011, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vztrt

I agree mate. The ute sales suffered after July last year. I wonder why??

What is surprising is the low numbers by a full model ute line-up.

Too right and we're not going to see any easy answers to this in the first half of the year,
darned pity Ford can't fast track LPG, that's a real thorn in their side.....

**Polyal** · 14-02-2011, 08:25 PM

Which is odd because everything that I have heard has been positive, they have just stuffed their times lines unless other issues in different programs have taken priority.

jpd80 · 14-02-2011, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polyal

Which is odd because everything that I have heard has been positive, they have just stuffed their times lines unless other issues in different programs have taken priority.

Yeah, they spent near on two years developing the V6 Falcon before Ford CEO,
Marin Burela reversed the decision to kill the I-6 in 2008 leaving them less then two years to:
- do Euro Iv Falcon in petrol,
- design Ecoboost I-4 installation,
- complete SZ Territory Engineering,
- Complete Ford Figo,
- Complete FG II upgrades

Oh and keep going full steam on T6 Ranger and SUv variant.....

We have to remember that Ford Austraila is a smallish centre and has limited resouirces.
I think they have pushed out a lot of work in the last three or four years, very impressive...

vztrt · 14-02-2011, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpd80

Oh and keep going full steam on T6 Ranger and SUv variant.....

T6 group is its own centre. They only dealt with the T6.

jpd80 · 14-02-2011, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vztrt

T6 group is its own centre. They only dealt with the T6.

Yes and what I meant was the resources were reserved and could not be used to speed up any change
back to I-6. It is still a Ford Australia project run out of that sale Centre of Excellence - Australia.

There were no spare resources to do the design work on the LPG - it's not just a plug and play.