"Between the price and volume, we will sort out the right mix," said Jim Farley, Ford's global marketing chief, said in an interview. "I do not think we are very enamored with being No. 1 only to be No. 1 We are much more enamored with getting the right price point and type of people the right to buy a car .." Ford Motor Co. CEO Alan Mulally has suggested that his new style sedan Fusion is looking for sales supremacy over s Toyota Motor Corp. 's Camry.That "does exactly what the boss wants, executives said.
Taurus comparison
Inevitably, comparisons are made for the Ford Taurus sedan, which is the best-selling car in the U.S. 1992-1996. When asked whether the new Fusion Mulally can finally drop the Camry, he appeared to answer in the affirmative.
"Fusion last year's record sales and a new family of vehicles, we believe we can build that success," he told reporters shortly after unveiling the car. "I think we will actually be preferred in the" middle segment car.
Within hours, the executive Mulally began parsing predictions.
"Alan is correct, that our expectations," said Derrick Kuzak, Ford's global product development major, said in an interview. "But we're not about the sales race And we certainly are not about to sacrifice our profitability for the sales race .."
Added Farley, who is responsible sale of Fusion 2013: ". He does not always say that our ambition to be a segment share leader"
Ford can not make enough to outsell the Camry Fusions, cars in the U.S. over the past decade, according to researcher IHS Automotive. Conversely, with the Fusion, Mulally aims to strike a balance between top dollar for every car ordered and sell more of them.
Approach with the Ford Fusion stands in contrast with industry efforts for the sales crown. General Motors Co. back to No. 1 global ranking last year, dethroning Toyota, while Volkswagen AG said it would be a leader in 2018. Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz and BMW AG BMW struggled to replace Toyota's Lexus as the top U.S. luxury sales, while they continue to battle for VW Audi global title.
Fusion indicates that there is still careful line between maximizing sales and maximize profits.
Appreciation and concern poured in for the Fusion after Mulally was introduced January 9 at the Detroit auto show. Redesigned sleek family car, a style borrowed from Jaguar and Aston Martin brands Ford once owned, which generated so much buzz that week showed that 49 per cent interest in Fusion jumped in the car shopping site Edmunds.com.
Plant Capacity
Ford increased the capacity of the plant to build the Fusion by adding a shift of production of cars at a factory in Michigan, adding to two shifts of workers are assembling cars in Mexico. That will give Ford Fusions capacity to build 400,000 annually, said Mike Jackson, a forecaster at IHS Automotive in Northville, Mich.
Toyota has the ability to build more than 500,000 years in the Camry plant in Kentucky and Indiana, said Mike Goss, spokesman for the unit of automobile production in North America.
Both Ford and Toyota will likely use all that capacity, said Jackson. U.S. vehicle sales will rise 5.6 percent this year to 13.5 million, the average estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. That's 20 percent less than the 16.8 million cars and light trucks sales average U.S. 2000-2007, according to Autodata Corp.
Fusion North American production will grow to 310,000 this year, from 294,000 last year, while the Camry surges to 408,000 from 308,000 in 2011, says Jackson. Next year, output of Fusion will grow to 345,000, still 17 percent behind the 414,000 Camrys that Toyota plans to build in North America, he said.
'More Discipline'
"I believe Ford is evaluating the prospects of" beating the Camry, said Jackson. "But they have become much more disciplined in the pursuit of sustainable share price and, as opposed to the cup."
Last year, Toyota sold 308,510 Camrys in the U.S., fell 6 percent, while Ford sold 248,067 Fusions, up 13 percent, according to Autodata.
Toyota will make a strong push this year with the newly redesigned Camry as the car maker Honda Motor Co and recover from the Japanese earthquake and tsunami that hobbled production last year, said Jackson.
Fusion ranking fall
That is why Fusion would fall to No. 4 car sold in the U.S. this year, from No. 3 of 2011, said Jessica Caldwell, sales analyst with Edmunds.com. Camry will maintain the lead, while the Honda Accord will move back to second from fourth after recovering from earthquakes and floods Thailand, he said. Nissan Motor Co. 's Altima will be the third, he said.
"It will be difficult to outsell the Camry," said Caldwell. "Camry has been on top so long they have been building a base, the owner of the faithful. Just from the sheer numbers, the Camry hard to beat."
Ford also had to worry about taking the sales of the Focus compact or subcompact Fiesta Fusion by lowering prices. Focus sales fell five consecutive months of last year when the latest version of Ford Fusion discount nearing the end of its life cycle.
"There are a large number of cross-shop" in the showroom of Ford Fusion, Focus, Fiesta and Escape small sport utility vehicles, Ken Czubay, the U.S. automaker's head of sales, analysts said January 4. "There's movement around the line of cars."
Car-price strategy
Ford's strategy is to get a higher price for each model with their equipment with technology that consumers will pay a premium, said Farley.
When the new Fusion runs on sales in the second half of this year, will be offered in hybrid and plug-in hybrid version, as well as with turbo-charged petrol engine that gets 37 miles per gallon.
"As a marketer, the most important part of this product is a technology," said Farley of Fusion. "After 37 mpg, 47 mpg hybrid and the 100-mpg plug-ins to talk about really could change many people's minds."
Selling more-expensive, technology-laden car adds about $ 900 million to operating profit before tax of the Ford automobile for $ 1.3 billion in the third quarter of last year, according to an Oct. 26 analyst presentation.
Upscale appearance
The new look Fusion can also generate greater demand from consumers willing to pay more for it, Caldwell said. Fusion named best production cars Detroit auto show that was designed by a panel of 25 car stylists, from rivals such as GM, Chrysler Group LLC and Honda.
"The new Fusion looks like a vehicle that is much more expensive than it really is," said Caldwell. "It will do well in Ford's non-traditional markets, such as California and coastal areas."
Comparison to the Camry, with its staid style, Farley plays into plans to build buzz for the new Fusion curved.
"You'll see us spend, especially in the digital social space, a sizeable amount of our launch budget even before the vehicle went on sale," said Farley.
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