Ford Australia has a strategy in place for a strong product-led assault in the local market. The spearhead for that assault will be 20 new or updated lines between now and 2020.
And the plan is already bearing fruit, with Ford claiming the well received Ranger LCV has cut back Toyota HiLux's lead in the segment by nearly 50 per cent over the past two years.
According to Bob Graziano, Ford Australia president, new product is naturally more engaging to consumers than old, outdated offerings.
"This product commitment is our long-term plan, as we know the freshest product generally wins in the marketplace," Graziano explained at the Go Further 2020 media event in Melbourne yesterday.
"That's why we're pleased to announce we will deliver 20 new or refreshed vehicles by 2020 – resulting in the most up-to-date showroom line-up ever in our history."
Of those new or updated models, those known to be in the works for Ford include the Everest seven-seat SUV, the updated Kuga SUV – launched as of today – the facelifted Ranger, upgraded Focus and Focus ST (pictured), plus the new Mondeo and Mustang.
Trevor Worthington, VP of Product Development for Ford in the Asia/Pacific region, revealed that the company's global 'One Ford' policy is speeding up new model turn-around, which results in new products across the range sooner, and along a wider front. A concrete example of that in action locally is the selection of EcoBoost-powered models to be offered – anticipated by the end of next year to cross 80 per cent of passenger-car model lines sold by Ford Australia.
As the deadline for local production looms – in October 2016 – Falcon and Territory are the two model lines worst affected by Ford's sales decline. In fact, year on year, the total sales decline of 6597 units in 2014 is more than offset by the sales decline of Falcon, Falcon Ute and Territory together – 9402 units. A new (FG X) Falcon and upgraded Territory may slow that sales decline – and possibly even reverse it in the short term, but it's fairly clear that Ford Australia is increasingly reliant on its imported product range to lift market share. That's well established, says Graziano.
"New global Ford products now account for 76 per cent of Ford vehicles sold in Australia – and that's up from 67 per cent last year," he said during his presentation.
Asked whether the legacy issues of Falcon and Territory were actively conflicting with raising the brand's standing in Australia, Graziano effectively told motoring.com.au that those issues were stuck hard in the minds of people who hadn't driven Fords "for decades", and Ford's current marketing tactic – Smart Drive – was helping break down some of those die-hard attitudes.
"There's a number of elements that go into a brand image – and what we're trying to do is ensure that we've got the most contemporary image for the brand out there, so that consumers can experience that at first hand, through the product.
"And we've talked about the number of 'smart drives' we've done around the country, and that really is a great opportunity for consumers that may not have interacted with the Ford brand for decades to actually experience our products and see how advanced they are – and perhaps break some of the paradigms for what Ford stands for in this market."
Graziano categorically ruled out closing the factory any sooner than October 2016.
"We've laid out our plan, and our plan hasn't changed."