Ford News: Ford Slices and Dices Their Car Lineup

[William Maley]

Ford is serious about cutting costs and that means cars will be cut. During the company's first-quarter earnings, it was announced that Ford would be killing off the Fiesta, Focus Sedan/Hatch, Fusion, and Taurus in North America. The only vehicles that will remain are the Mustang and the upcoming Focus Active in 2019. This will save Ford $11.5 billion and up their cost-cutting goal to $25.5 billion by 2022. This is a sizeable increase from $14 billion projected by CEO Jim Hackett in October.

“Everything is on the table. We can exit products (and) markets. We will do that. That work (started in October) has really gained traction. We have looked at every single part of the business. It’s a very complex endeavor. We are determined to turn this business around right throughout the whole company. There’s more work that’s underway,” said Ford Chief Financial Officer Bob Shanks.

The move to reduce Ford's passenger car lineup is not shocking. Sales of Ford's passenger cars have been tanking for the past couple of years as trucks/SUVs have taken off. We've also be reporting on the death of Ford's car lineup in the rumorpile within the past year. It is unclear the timeframe as to when the various models will end production for North America. Our guess would be Taurus, Fiesta, Focus, and Fusion.

Ford is also not planning "next generations of traditional Ford sedans for North America.”  Instead, the company will focus on what it calls “white space” silhouette vehicles - models hat combine attributes from cars and utility vehicles (A.K.A. crossovers) Also in the cards are hybrid powertrains for various models and 16 electric vehicles by 2022. By 2020, the company expects 90 percent of their North American lineup will be comprised of pickups, SUVs, and commercial vehicles.

For the time being, other markets will continue to get the Fiesta, Focus, Fusion, and Taurus.

One item that is still up in the air is what will happen to the Lincoln models that share platforms - the Continental and MKZ.

Source: Ford, Automotive News (Subscription Required), Bloomberg, The Detroit News

View full article