Ford's Crossovers Boosts Turnaround

For years, Dearborn automaker Ford has been the second largest automaker in the world - second only to General Motors. But Toyota has overtaken it already and Ford is in the middle of implementing its turnaround plan named the Way Forward.  The automaker vowed that it will design and manufacture vehicles which consumers would want to own.

The restructuring plan of the automaker coincided with the increased focus on green or eco-friendly vehicles.  The increasing price of petroleum in the world market means that Americans would also have to cope up with the increased price of fuel. Thus, consumers are forced to purchase smaller yet more fuel efficient vehicles.  But automakers know that Americans want larger vehicles.  Their solution is to design a vehicle which will have about the same cargo space of large vehicles and at the same time having the driving characteristics and fuel efficiency as small vehicles.  The resulting product is the crossover.

With the crossover proving to be a success when it comes to pleasing consumers, Ford decided that it has to come up with crossover SUVs which will attract consumers onto their dealerships.  It seems that Ford has succeeded in this endeavor as The Auto Channel reported that Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln crossover vehicles posted the highest sales increase in the industry for 2007.

The report stated that the boost in crossover sales was led by three redesigned and two new models.  The automaker reported that they have sold 62 percent more crossover vehicles last year compared to 2006.  That sales increase is more than triple the industry average growth of only 17 percent.  The Ford Edge is instrumental in setting that sales record with sales reaching 130,125 units.  That figure is 30 percent more than the sales goal set by the automaker for the Edge.

Jim Farley, Ford's group vice president for Marketing and Communications, said:  "Ford Edge is a great example of our plan to build products people really want to buy.  Demand is growing at a fast pace beyond the nation's heartland, our traditional region of strength."

For the Lincoln marquee, sales of crossover utility vehicles increase by 9 percent in 2007.  The Lincoln MKX crossover led the way for Lincoln.  The marque's sales increase was also fueled by the increased demand for its MKZ sedan and the Lincoln Navigator.  Apart from Lincoln and Mercury, Ford also owns Volvo Cars and a portion of Mazda which manufactures auto parts like Mazda park lights.

"We are restructuring our business to be profitable at lower demand and changed mix and accelerating the development of new products people want to buy," said Farley.  "We have more work to do to reach our ultimate goal - profitable growth for all. But we have made progress in a short amount of time in several key areas."