![]() ![]() Since becoming CEO in May 2017, Hackett has pushed for quicker decision-making among Ford's top ranks. By 2020, it projects nearly 90 percent of its vehicles sold in North America to be trucks, SUVs or commercial vehicles. “There are a whole lot of implications for the automotive industry, and for consumers in terms of choice and prices.”įord is in the midst of cutting $25.5 billion in operating costs to prepare for the industry's uncertain future, as well as spending $11 billion to restructure its global businesses. market, and many won’t be built in the U.S. “Many models will be withdrawn from the U.S. She predicted tariffs on Chinese imports, compounded with a possible 25-percent tariff on all imported cars and parts, would push a lot of products out of the U.S. “This is just the first of many such announcements,” said Kristin Dziczek, vice president of the Ann Arbor-based Center for Automotive Research. Galhotra said Friday that Ford did not seek an exemption for the Active. That request is still being considered, a GM spokesman said. ![]() government for an exemption from the tariffs for its China-built Buick Envision. But if Ford had brought in the Focus Active at the price range with those tariffs, it just would not have been affordable," Pack said. "There's a strong lineup on the way, but it needs to do two things: we need to have the product that will fill the void from the cars that we're losing, and then we have to have products that go beyond that and grow our share."Ĭrosstown rival General Motors Co. "We need products at an affordable price range, they're very important for a lot of different reasons. But having an affordable option is also crucial, which is why Pack says he supports Ford's decision on the Focus Active. Pack sees potential in the upcoming Ranger and Bronco revivals - also strong brand names for Ford - and in the change in "silhouettes" the automaker has promised in its portfolio overhaul. But do we hate to lose it? Yes," said Sam Pack of Sam Pack's Five Star Ford in Texas. "The nameplate has been a little watered down in the last few years. ![]() Under CEO Jim Hackett, Ford is pushing for 10 percent profit margins in North America - 7.4 percent in the second quarter - prompting Ford leadership and managers to adopt a "Return to 10" mantra they're using to help guide decision-making on future product and business strategy.įor dealers, the loss of the Focus nameplate is bittersweet. "With the transitory nature of the tariff situation," he said, "they may have been looking for an excuse to not sell (the Focus Active) in the U.S." And the hot politics of trade, including where vehicles are built, likely contributed to Ford's decision to drop plans to import a Chinese-built Focus into the United States. sales through July with nearly 84,100 deliveries. In its current iteration, sales of the Focus passenger car are down 15.3 percent in U.S. It may have been difficult for Ford to sell Americans the Focus Active with enough volume to earn much of a profit margin, according to Brauer. "Whatever Ford gets in brand recognition from Focus might not have helped much attached to what's supposed to be a crossover or an SUV," said Karl Brauer, industry analyst for Cox Automotive. The Focus nameplate on the Active crossover was to be the last vestige of Ford's current sedan lineup. The decision comes as the automaker jostles with an aging portfolio deemed unfit for the SUV-and-crossover-heavy desires of consumers in America and other major markets. We're choosing to deploy resources elsewhere." "The significant thing that moved was the tariffs going up substantially higher. "Given the negative financial impact of the new tariffs, we've decided not to import this vehicle from China," Kumar Galhotra, Ford president of North America, said Friday. Recent tariffs imposed on Chinese imports by the Trump administration - and those expected to be levied on imported vehicles - would have trimmed profits on an already low-margin vehicle. The Focus-based vehicle, previously expected to arrive in the United States by late 2019, would have been built in China by Ford and shipped to the United States. by the end of next year and ultimately leaving just one Ford-brand car in showrooms within the next few years: the Mustang. The Blue Oval is scrapping its plan to sell the China-built Focus Active crossover in the automaker's home market, effectively axing the Focus name plate in the U.S. is again readjusting its future product plans in the United States, this time in response to tariffs imposed on Chinese imports by President Donald Trump - and the threat of more to come. ![]()
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