ANTAUS Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 http://www.autoblog.com/2016/02/06/ford-europe-layoffs-official/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 (edited) Thanks for posting ANTAUS.. Autoblog - LINK Ford is "refocusing product strategy to add new vehicles and derivatives in segments with the highest growth and profit potential such as crossovers and SUVs, and eliminating less profitable vehicles over time." That could spell trouble for some of its minivans, like the B-Max (pictured), S-Max, and Galaxy, which have typically been some of its slowest-selling passenger vehicles, along with the Ka city car. This year the company is introducing the new Kuga crossover and bringing the Edge over to Europe, and plans on launching five new crossovers within the next three years. So let's think about this, B-Max, S-Max & Galaxy are on the short list to get the chop. 1. B-Max is made in Romania so I don't know what replacement could be put there, Ecosport? 2. S-Max and Galaxy are built in Spain with Mondeo so maybe Edge could replace them and save importing.. but it's this bit that intrigues: This year the company is introducing the new Kuga crossover and bringing the Edge over to Europe, and plans on launching five new crossovers within the next three years. So my question is can anyone guess what the five new crossovers being planned will be? .... and what flow on effect does this have to Nth America and Rest of the World markets? Could we see, A new Flex on CD4? A Focus hatch crossover (Subaru XV)? A V6 Diesel Expedition, Ford Bronco? Mondeo hatch "Forrester"? Sounds to me like Ford has a plan....... but what is it... Edited February 7, 2016 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blazerdude20 Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 Bet money that the explorer is one of them. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 Bet money that the explorer is one of them....but only if it has a diesel, we know how expensive fuel prices are there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MKII Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 (edited) Thanks for posting ANTAUS.. So let's think about this, B-Max, S-Max & Galaxy are on the short list to get the chop. 1. B-Max is made in Romania so I don't know what replacement could be put there, Ecosport? 2. S-Max and Galaxy are built in Spain with Mondeo so maybe Edge could replace them and save importing.. but it's this bit that intrigues: So my question is can anyone guess what the five new crossovers being planned will be? .... and what flow on effect does this have to Nth America and Rest of the World markets? Could we see, A new Flex on CD4? A Focus hatch crossover (Subaru XV)? A V6 Diesel Expedition, Ford Bronco? Mondeo hatch "Forrester"? Sounds to me like Ford has a plan....... but what is it... Craiova Romania plant will build the EcoSport. I would be shocked if FoE cancelled S-Max and Galaxy. Edited February 7, 2016 by MKII Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 (edited) Craiova Romania plant will build the EcoSport. I would be shocked if FoE cancelled S-Max and Galaxy. Looks like S-Max and Galaxy have allen off a cliff in the past 12 months, sales have basically halved compared to 2014. I'm wondering if Edge becomes the natural successor to S-Max. Edited February 8, 2016 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gworl Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Looks like S-Max and Galaxy have allen off a cliff in the past 12 months, sales have basically halved compared to 2014. I'm wondering if Edge becomes the natural successor to S-Max. In my opinion dwindling sales of Galaxy and S-Max in 2014/2015 are based on Ford closing the plant in Genk, Belgium and moving the production of the Galaxy and S-Max to Valencia. Genk closed on December 18th 2014, that is when the last first-generation S-Max and second-generation Galaxy were built. The built-in-Valencia current generation Galaxy and S-Max were intruduced as late as September 2015 (in Germany, I don`t know about other European countries), so for most of 2015 all Ford dealers had to sell were left-over 2014 model cars. The sales-chart shows that sales are up again now that the new-generation cars are available. In my opinion the situation is similar to when production of the Mondeo was taken from Genk to Valencia, introducing the new-generation Mondeo at the same time. To me the question is if Minivans are going to be supplanted by SUVs in Europe, as it more and more seems to be the case (Renault Escape went from Minivan to 7-seat-SUV, Opel/Vauxhall is said to do the same with the Zafira). If it was financially viable for Ford to stick to at least S-Max or Galaxy in addition to Edge (and maybe even Explorer), Ford could have a nice slice of the remaining SUV-market in Europe. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biker16 Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 To me this is an extension of One ford, where It becomes difficult to continue Region specific products like the S-max, C-max, other outliers like the Transit courier and the B-max, and how going forward how to increase commonality, increase Global volume, or leave the segment. FOE has to sell more expensive vehicles, sales today are too heavily weighted towards low margin products like the The fiesta and Focus and not towards higher margin products like the CUVs. So...... 7-seat Edge is a better fit than the explorer. Either abandon the B-max and C-max, or consolidate production in a low cost plant maybe Mexico. Move Fiesta production to Romania from Germany. The Vignale brand becomes Quasi-Lincoln. Opportunity for brand differentiation by leveraging AWD and AWD derivatives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bzcat Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 (edited) Here is my take on how Ford should update the line up in Europe: Passenger vehicles A-segment: Need to find a way to sell the new Ka and Figo in Europe to replace the expensive Ka that Ford buys from Fiat. The problem is there is not enough production capacity in low cost countries. Potentially, Ford can set up Ka/Figo/EcoSport line in Romania if B-Max bites the dust. B-segment: Need a new B-segment CUV. Also Fiesta is long overdue. C-segment: Replace the 5 seat C-Max with a crossover like Nissan Qashqai or Jeep Compass. Add 7 seat option on the next Escape/Kuga and drop the Grand C-Max. Add a "cross" version of Focus wagon. More Focus (or Focus based) EV and PHEVs. D-segment: Consolidate S-Max and Galaxy into one model. Ford obviously doesn't need two of them but since they are basically Ford Edge with MPV body, keeping one of them around is probably not that expensive. Add Mondel wagon "cross". E-segment: Explorer is a small niche market in EU but probably profitable one if Ford finally put a diesel engine in it. Commercial vehicles B-segment : Transit Courier probably too specialized (i.e. too different from Fiesta). Make the next one just an extended Fiesta. C-segment: Transit Connect seems to be working so not much change here. D-segment: Transit Custom can probably use more investment. Could use a LWB version to fully compete with VW Transporter. And keep in mind VW Transporter is actually 4 different models: VW Kombi (cargo van), VW Shuttle (commercial wagon), VW Caravelle (family wagon), VW Multivan (VIP transport). Right now Ford only competes with VW Kombi and Caravelle (i.e. Transit Custom and Tourneo Custom). Ford should add a Vignale version here to compete with Multivan and Mercedes V-Class. Fullsize: Transit van is already the most dominate fullsize van in Europe so just keeping doing what works. Pickup: Ranger seems to be doing fine in Europe but I suspect there is probably some growth left on the table on some higher end models. Vignale subbrand: Focus, Kuga, Mondeo, Edge, Explorer, Tourneo Custom Edited February 8, 2016 by bzcat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 I agree with the above comments by bzcat and biker. Ford needs to shake things up an get buyers interested again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 The Vignale brand becomes Quasi-Lincoln. This is a way better idea than trying to establish Lincoln, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 (edited) This is a way better idea than trying to establish Lincoln, IMO. Much better idea and easier to implement across multiple vehicles. Mondeo for now but possibly , Escape and maybe Edge could basically become a Lincoln on the inside. That would be a clever way to share high series trim packages and features. Edited February 9, 2016 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MKII Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 (edited) Transit Custom offers an choice of two different wheelbase versions: a short-wheelbase model SWB total length of 4.97 m, and the long-wheelbase model LWB total length of 5.34 m. Available in low roof and high roof. The Transit Custom low roof offers 1406mm of internal load height, the high roof version offers 1778mm of internal load height. And in cargo & commercial variants. Plus there is the Tourneo Custom in SWB & LWB and family/VIP variants. http://www.ford.co.uk/Cars/TourneoCustom/Design#primaryTabs So FoE offers the Custom in 4 different models as well. http://www.ford.co.uk/Hidden/BrochuresandPricelists click on the CV brochure Tab Why would FoE cancel a segment leader C-Max? I can see them taking out the Grand C-Max. Kuga is a C-Max CUV. S-Max is a segment leader as well, and next up for the Vignale treatment. A-segment in Europe seems to be a dead segment, why bother? Edited February 9, 2016 by MKII 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 I feel the need to point out that the slightly different font color in the preceding post is screwing with my head. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 I feel the need to point out that the slightly different font color in the preceding post is screwing with my head. I think it's different fonts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 As a retired Ford white collar employee I am more interested in the white collar cuts. Clearly some of that work will wind up in Dearborn just like much of the emission and safety work has moved in the past 7-9 years. FoE "fell on their face" with the "global" Transit (1-2 years late because it could not pass US safety) and the US powertrain for the current generation Escape (multiple recalls; multiple buy-backs) come to mind off the top of my head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atomcat68 Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 This is a way better idea than trying to establish Lincoln, IMO. I agree. Lincoln would never gain traction in Europe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bzcat Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 (edited) Transit Custom offers an choice of two different wheelbase versions: a short-wheelbase model SWB total length of 4.97 m, and the long-wheelbase model LWB total length of 5.34 m. Available in low roof and high roof. The Transit Custom low roof offers 1406mm of internal load height, the high roof version offers 1778mm of internal load height. And in cargo & commercial variants. Plus there is the Tourneo Custom in SWB & LWB and family/VIP variants. http://www.ford.co.uk/Cars/TourneoCustom/Design#primaryTabs So FoE offers the Custom in 4 different models as well. http://www.ford.co.uk/Hidden/BrochuresandPricelists click on the CV brochure Tab Why would FoE cancel a segment leader C-Max? I can see them taking out the Grand C-Max. Kuga is a C-Max CUV. S-Max is a segment leader as well, and next up for the Vignale treatment. A-segment in Europe seems to be a dead segment, why bother? Thanks for the info on Transit Custom. Didn't know it had LWB option. S-Max and Galaxy is too much. I think S-Max survives with Edge. C-Max will be around I think but Ford will need to rethink its purpose and role. Grand C-Max is probably not necessary. A-segment is dead? It's the 3rd largest segment in Europe after B- and C-segment with about 1.5 million units of sales. Opel Karl Opel Adam VW Up! Skoda Citigo Seat Mii Peugeot 108 Citroen C1 Toyota Aygo Fiat Panda Fiat 500 Renault Twingo Smart ForFour Hyundai i10 Kia Picanto Ford Ka Edited February 9, 2016 by bzcat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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