AN: Kuga and C-Max to Follow Focus in U.S.

[Harley Lover]

I haven't seen a thread elsewhere that addresses this article:

Focus will follow Fiesta as a global vehicle

 

Amy Wilson

Automotive News Europe

May 19, 2008 06:01 CET

 

DETROIT — The next-generation Ford Focus will be the second global vehicle Ford Motor sells in the United States.

 

Mark Fields, Ford president of the Americas, confirmed to Automotive News that the compact Focus will follow the subcompact Ford Fiesta in the automaker's global product rollout.

 

The Fiesta, shown as the Verve concept at the 2008 Detroit auto show, will go on sale in 2010. Fields would not say how long it will be before the Focus follows. But industry forecasters expect Ford to begin assembling the next-generation Focus in the United States in late 2010 or early 2011.

 

The next Focus will be among a global family of compact, or C-segment, cars and crossovers Ford is developing in Europe. Fields wouldn't talk about C-segment derivatives planned for North America. But he acknowledged that the U.S. market is in line to get multiple body styles within segments, as has happened in Japan and Europe.

 

The United States is expected to get versions of two European vehicles, the C-Max and Kuga crossovers, early next decade. Ford now sells the C-Max in Europe and will start selling the Kuga there in June. Both are based on the platform used for the current European Focus. The current U.S. Focus is based on an older platform.

 

Product introductions and redesigns also will be better matched as Ford continues developing global vehicles, Fields said.

 

"We really have to have the right cadence (and) marry up the cadence of freshenings between Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America," he said. "Leveraging scale by using common suppliers, you can't have one part of the world freshening a vehicle and assuming a year later another part of the world will do that."

 

So, on the one hand Fields would not be quoted regarding other C cars to be available in the U.S., but in the next paragraph the article flatly states that we're expected to get the Kuga and C-Max. The inference seems to be at the next freshening for them, since we've missed out on this round of intros. I know there's been quite a bit of discussion about this, thought it was very interesting to see something in print from AN, which is usually reliable.

 

Also note the article states the Focus will be built in the U.S. (not generic North America).

[silvrsvt]

The Kuga is a given since its slated to replace the Escape in 2011-12 time frame

 

The C-Max is more or less a given once we get the C2 Focus

[igor]

The Kuga is a given since its slated to replace the Escape in 2011-12 time frame

 

The C-Max is more or less a given once we get the C2 Focus

C-Max might actually be first, and Kuga second .. but all three will be very close together - basically all stacked on op of ecsh other - once one launch ends, then ext will begin.

 

Igor

[campbell53]

I've been waiting for a discussion on this since I saw it 2 days ago. I just thought I missed it since we've beat this to death over the last year. As a dealer I welcome the Euro's to the states.

[danup]

Still not a big fan of the Kuga.

[Deanh]

Still not a big fan of the Kuga.

I am completely the opposite...go figure....LOL!

[danup]

Heh, the front end is starting to grow on me a little but that rear just looks Hyundai-y to me. The greenhouse slanting in like that reminds me of the hideous execution of the PT Cruiser ragtop, which is admittedly an odd comparison.

Edited May 21, 2008 by danup

[Deanh]

Heh, the front end is starting to grow on me a little but that rear just looks Hyundai-y to me. The greenhouse slanting in like that reminds me of the hideous execution of the PT Cruiser ragtop, which is admittedly an odd comparison.

have a big article and photos from a mag i picked up in Ireland on the kuga...Like it....nice...the writers/ testers LOVED it.....

[ds91776]

I really think that Ford could have a big hit on its hands with the 2nd gen C-MAX comming to the US. It will be interesting to see if they name it Focus X (or keep the C-MAX) or come up with a new name altogehter. Personally I hope they keep it in the Focus family. With most 3 row vehicles in the US costing at least $25,000 dollars (with few exceptions) this fuel effiecient and inexpensive family car could do wonders for Ford. No major automaker has sold a mini-minivan in the US (Kia and Mazda or too small) it will interesting how the public responds to an entry from one of the big boy brands (Chevy, Ford, Toyota, Honda, and Nissan). It will also be interesting to see if the Focus C-MAx/X etc is built alongside the Focus next gen Focus or wether it will be built alongside the 3rd gen Escape in Missouri since they are built on the same platform. Also, the first gen C-Max and its freshening occured a year before the 2nd gen Focus in Europe, will this be the same? The 3rd gen Focus is set to debut for the 2011 model year so will the new C-MAX come for the 2010 model year in Europe and come to the US a year later along with its sedan and hatchback siblings? Can't wait to find out more.

[Deanh]

I really think that Ford could have a big hit on its hands with the 2nd gen C-MAX comming to the US. It will be interesting to see if they name it Focus X (or keep the C-MAX) or come up with a new name altogehter. Personally I hope they keep it in the Focus family. With most 3 row vehicles in the US costing at least $25,000 dollars (with few exceptions) this fuel effiecient and inexpensive family car could do wonders for Ford. No major automaker has sold a mini-minivan in the US (Kia and Mazda or too small) it will interesting how the public responds to an entry from one of the big boy brands (Chevy, Ford, Toyota, Honda, and Nissan). It will also be interesting to see if the Focus C-MAx/X etc is built alongside the Focus next gen Focus or wether it will be built alongside the 3rd gen Escape in Missouri since they are built on the same platform. Also, the first gen C-Max and its freshening occured a year before the 2nd gen Focus in Europe, will this be the same? The 3rd gen Focus is set to debut for the 2011 model year so will the new C-MAX come for the 2010 model year in Europe and come to the US a year later along with its sedan and hatchback siblings? Can't wait to find out more.

doesn't Mazda already retail a small 7 passenger along the lines of the C-max?.......

[LSFan00]

But I thought this was all impossible? Different head units, etc?

 

Whaddaya know, with gas prices skyrocketing our tastes aren't much different at all, I guess, and maybe it isn't necessarily a lunar landing operation in terms of complexity.

[Hugh]

doesn't Mazda already retail a small 7 passenger along the lines of the C-max?.......

Yes the Mazda 5. I am a little confused with the article because we already knew this was going to happen. Correct me if I'm wrong but IIRC, it is C2 Focus, EUCD Kuga and C2(?) C-Max.

Edited May 21, 2008 by Hugh

[RichardJensen]

But I thought this was all impossible? Different head units, etc?

 

Whaddaya know, with gas prices skyrocketing our tastes aren't much different at all, I guess, and maybe it isn't necessarily a lunar landing operation in terms of complexity.

1: Note, please, that this is for NEW vehicles. Ask any Ford engineer and they will tell you that the EXISTING PRODUCTS can't be sold profitably here.

 

2: Our tastes are still overwhelmingly different. Why? Well, the two best selling vehicles in the US are still trucks, and even if they don't finish out the year as the best selling vehicles, they'll still be in the top 10. Can't say that about ANY truck in Europe, so yeah, things are still very very different here.

[Deanh]

1: Note, please, that this is for NEW vehicles. Ask any Ford engineer and they will tell you that the EXISTING PRODUCTS can't be sold profitably here.

 

2: Our tastes are still overwhelmingly different. Why? Well, the two best selling vehicles in the US are still trucks, and even if they don't finish out the year as the best selling vehicles, they'll still be in the top 10. Can't say that about ANY truck in Europe, so yeah, things are still very very different here.

did we forget the Transit Connect....hahahahaha

[RichardJensen]

did we forget the Transit Connect....hahahahaha

Totally different scenario. That's a commercial vehicle. And it's going to be sold in very limited quantities.

[ds91776]

Kuga is on C1 I thought, it is the S-Max, galaxy, Mondeo, Volvo S80, V70, XC70, and LR LR2 that are on EUCD.

 

By the way, you'll notice that I mentioned the Mazda 5...it's amazing how people just skim over posts and don't read them without any care at all. My point was that the Ford would be the first major brand (ie Ford, Chevy, Honda, Toyota, Nissan) to field an entry in this segment in the US. We know that Chevy is thnking about bringing its Opel Zafaria c-max competitor to the US soon anyway so Ford is more than on track.

[igor]

But I thought this was all impossible? Different head units, etc?

 

Whaddaya know, with gas prices skyrocketing our tastes aren't much different at all, I guess, and maybe it isn't necessarily a lunar landing operation in terms of complexity.

well it is not anymore ... and partially it never was.

 

In terms of Compacts, US and EU have been structurally compatible since late nineties - the MkI Focus proves it. The problem was with profitability but that was also jsut a hurdle to overcome all it needed was will - and Ford had lacked that. The MkI Focus was a failed experiment, and afterwards, the NA bosses had all the excuses they heeded to eliminate the corporate push for sharing - they broke it just so to prove it is broken (it was not).

 

The C1 project thusly went on without NA - but not because NA could not use it - they did not want to. Once C1 was developed it was developed with a critical flaw for US consumption - it was too expensive - US still commands lower prices for compacts compared to EU - and as a result the construction costs have to be lower on compacts to break even or be profitable in US market. The C1 cannot do it - the top models are OK, but the base- stripper model is just too darn expensive.

 

In comes Fields and Bill Ford, and later Kuzak and Mulally. What they did - in that order of importance - is to commission a project that takes the C1 platform, but builds in more cost flexibility than the C1 allows. This means that building a stripped Focus will become cheaper than before. This will also allow for greater modulation of equipment and contents installed - so if EU wants a Package 1 and US wants Package 2 they can be installed separately, without the costly wiring and prepping for both.

 

The new platform, internally still called C1 will debut with the new C-Max. The C-Max which is the first vehicle on schedule for redesign will remain a tall FIVE passenger wagon without sliding doors - it will not add third row as the Mazda5 has - the Mazda5 us a unique animal with longer wheelbase and a hybrid hodge-podge platform (Mazda loves doing that). The new C-Max will ride on this refreshed platform, but sport all new "top hat" - everything you see - exterior, interior - everything.

 

After that, the new Focus debuts - again riding on the refreshed platform, with a new top hat.

 

Finally, the Kuga debuted on the old platform, but since the new refreshed platform is not changing hard points, Kuga will not wait for a full on redesign to move to the new platform - it will do it when it is refreshed. Once again - this will allow its production and sale in the good ole USA. US might even get the refreshed Kuga before the rest of the world, as the project is not major, and the rest of the world will simply wait for the current Kuga to run its course before refreshing.

 

Finally the part that was structurally prohibitive until recently were mid-sized cars. The Contour WAS the Mondeo from EU and that is how small mid-sizes were in EU at that time. However since that time, Mid size cars has grown considerably in EU and virtually matched their US counterparts - the Mondeo is actually larger than the US Fusion. Ford actually planned on having a global mid-size car already by now but that project crashed an burned in a reversed situation of what happened to the Focus - the EU Ford (along with Volvo) refused Mazda's CD3 platform and built their EUCD platform by up-sizing the C1 (Focus) platform - they liked it because it was theirs, they liked it because the engine bay is virtually identical to C1, they liked it. In the global perspective, it was actually a good move, as the two platforms share a lot of components - they really are just two sizes of the same platform - and this will save Ford a lot of money. So Ford NA delayed the US Fusion schedule by a year to match the Mondeo Schedule better. Once the Mondeo due for a full redesign, it will be transformed into a global car - and will be sold in US as the next Fusion. related cars such as the Edge, S-Max, and Galaxy will all move into this new EUCD platform. Like with the C1 platform, EUCD will receive just minor changes to make it fit for US production - again cost flexibility will be built in - the Ford version will add AWD and support for D35 (something missing from the Mondeo). The top hat will again be all new, but underneath the platform will remain greatly unchanged.

 

Igor

Edited May 21, 2008 by igor

[MKII]

So North America's stop gap Foci runs until MY2011?

[RichardJensen]

they broke it just so to prove it is broken (it was not).

 

To hear it from some insiders, Padilla's demands for improved quality on the existing Focus were one of the reasons Ford NA opted out of C1 (which was not really a global project in the sense that C2 is).

 

Ford NA did not sabotage the Focus. Ford's globally flawed processes sabotaged the Focus. The Focus was, quite simply, not ready for prime time in 1999, in the US. This was a vehicle engineered in Europe that was expected to be manufactured in the US without any US supply base, etc.--and without regard to lower US transaction prices.

[Hugh]

well it is not anymore ... and partially it never was.

 

In terms of Compacts, US and EU have been structurally compatible since late nineties - the MkI Focus proves it. The problem was with profitability but that was also jsut a hurdle to overcome all it needed was will - and Ford had lacked that. The MkI Focus was a failed experiment, and afterwards, the NA bosses had all the excuses they heeded to eliminate the corporate push for sharing - they broke it just so to prove it is broken (it was not).

 

The C1 project thusly went on without NA - but not because NA could not use it - they did not want to. Once C1 was developed it was developed with a critical flaw for US consumption - it was too expensive - US still commands lower prices for compacts compared to EU - and as a result the construction costs have to be lower on compacts to break even or be profitable in US market. The C1 cannot do it - the top models are OK, but the base- stripper model is just too darn expensive.

 

In comes Fields and Bill Ford, and later Kuzak and Mulally. What they did - in that order of importance - is to commission a project that takes the C1 platform, but builds in more cost flexibility than the C1 allows. This means that building a stripped Focus will become cheaper than before. This will also allow for greater modulation of equipment and contents installed - so if EU wants a Package 1 and US wants Package 2 they can be installed separately, without the costly wiring and prepping for both.

 

The new platform, internally still called C1 will debut with the new C-Max. The C-Max which is the first vehicle on schedule for redesign will remain a tall FIVE passenger wagon without sliding doors - it will not add third row as the Mazda5 has - the Mazda5 us a unique animal with longer wheelbase and a hybrid hodge-podge platform (Mazda loves doing that). The new C-Max will ride on this refreshed platform, but sport all new "top hat" - everything you see - exterior, interior - everything.

 

After that, the new Focus debuts - again riding on the refreshed platform, with a new top hat.

 

Finally, the Kuga debuted on the old platform, but since the new refreshed platform is not changing hard points, Kuga will not wait for a full on redesign to move to the new platform - it will do it when it is refreshed. Once again - this will allow its production and sale in the good ole USA. US might even get the refreshed Kuga before the rest of the world, as the project is not major, and the rest of the world will simply wait for the current Kuga to run its course before refreshing.

 

Finally the part that was structurally prohibitive until recently were mid-sized cars. The Contour WAS the Mondeo from EU and that is how small mid-sizes were in EU at that time. However since that time, Mid size cars has grown considerably in EU and virtually matched their US counterparts - the Mondeo is actually larger than the US Fusion. Ford actually planned on having a global mid-size car already by now but that project crashed an burned in a reversed situation of what happened to the Focus - the EU Ford (along with Volvo) refused Mazda's CD3 platform and built their EUCD platform by up-sizing the C1 (Focus) platform - they liked it because it was theirs, they liked it because the engine bay is virtually identical to C1, they liked it. In the global perspective, it was actually a good move, as the two platforms share a lot of components - they really are just two sizes of the same platform - and this will save Ford a lot of money. So Ford NA delayed the US Fusion schedule by a year to match the Mondeo Schedule better. Once the Mondeo due for a full redesign, it will be transformed into a global car - and will be sold in US as the next Fusion. related cars such as the Edge, S-Max, and Galaxy will all move into this new EUCD platform. Like with the C1 platform, EUCD will receive just minor changes to make it fit for US production - again cost flexibility will be built in - the Ford version will add AWD and support for D35 (something missing from the Mondeo). The top hat will again be all new, but underneath the platform will remain greatly unchanged.

 

Igor

Thanks Igor for clearing things up. That post makes a lot of sense so it can't be true . Just kidding...I take it that all the NA mods for D35 will take EcoBoost into consideration. :happy feet:

[igor]

To hear it from some insiders, Padilla's demands for improved quality on the existing Focus were one of the reasons Ford NA opted out of C1 (which was not really a global project in the sense that C2 is).

 

Ford NA did not sabotage the Focus. Ford's globally flawed processes sabotaged the Focus. The Focus was, quite simply, not ready for prime time in 1999, in the US. This was a vehicle engineered in Europe that was expected to be manufactured in the US without any US supply base, etc.--and without regard to lower US transaction prices.

well what Ford NA sabotaged in C170 was that they insisted on re-engineering parts that did not need re-engineering - some customization was expected, but they went on to redesign giant chunks of the platform that were fine - and those bore the lion's share of the recalls and reliability problems.

 

The C1 project was another experiment and one that made Kuzak a global PD VP - Ford NA was invited as Ford tried to include everyone in developing a single, somewhat size-flexible platform that would underpin an array of small cars - from Focus, to Kuga, to Volvo, to Mazda. It is very well possible Padilla thought it was too risky to introduce an all new platform in the middle of their Quality turnaround. but in the end the reason was financial - they have been running same old platforms with minimal changes for decades to no end - increasing per-unit profitability and then killing the nameplate image. The C170 was cheaper it was a fine car, and Ford NA's product schedule was nowhere near as quick as Ford EU's - they believed the 05 freshening would be just fine for another five years. The 08 came in later once the 05 started withering in the marketplace. However, once again, Padilla planned to keep it for full 7-8 model years and only then figure out what to do next.

 

To answer the question by MKII - production of MkIII Focus in USA begins in April 2010.

 

Igor

[Deanh]

Totally different scenario. That's a commercial vehicle. And it's going to be sold in very limited quantities.

not here.....will take off here..they will sell as many as they can get.........

[Deanh]

did we forget the Transit Connect....hahahahaha

take away The Transit and Transit connect type vehicles and there is no such thing as a truck in Euro...barring HUGE behemouths....closest i can think is in Australia and even that ( Falcon/ Commodore utes ) do not compare with F-150 and 250's etc......there is no equivilent to a "US" truck I can think of....

[igor]

Thanks Igor for clearing things up. That post makes a lot of sense so it can't be true . Just kidding...I take it that all the NA mods for D35 will take EcoBoost into consideration. :happy feet:

of course - although a D35 Eco boost might be still pushing it for the Fusion-class vehicles. It does not fit right now, and it might not in the future - it is a lot of plumbing to fit under the hood, and 350hp is quite a punch for such a light and small vehicle. They might just stick with something smaller - like I4 EB's (Volvo's I5 and I6 engines still have uncertain future - they are not as powerful as the V6 engines, are thirstier, and more expensive to build, but as far as I know they have not been killed yet).

 

Igor

[MKII]

Igor have you heard that one of the reasons the C1 was dropped for N.A. was a fear that the C1 4 door Focus would cannabilize sales from the up coming , higher margin, Fusion which came out in 2006?