Ford are planning a new model blitz in Europe in the next 5 years as they plan to be in pole position as the European economy starts to improve.
Ford of Europe has had a miserable time of late, with the European market in disarray as the Eurozone crisis continues to rumble and car buyers on the continent shy away from big ticket purchases.
But, just as they did in the US, Ford are making plans to cash-in when the Eurozone economy improves in the coming years (not that that’s an absolute given) and are going to ready with a raft of new models to tempt mainstream buyers when economies start to grow and car finance becomes a realistic option for more once again.
Barb Samardzich, Ford’s head of product development in Europe, says Ford are planning to make their portfolio of products the best ever in anticipation of a recovery, with a huge 25 new models launching over the next five years, and they will be additions to the Ford line-up or new generations, not variants.
That list will include stuff like the new Ford S-Max, the Ford Edge and the Ford EcoSport, but there will clearly be more new offerings on the way, perhaps even including the new Ford Capri based on the Focus platform.
It’s a bold plan by Ford, and does make assumptions about the future health of the Eurozone, but assuming Europe does get back on track, Ford should be back in profit in Europe by 2015, and flying away in the years following.
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