dwasson
04-12-2006, 09:50 PM
From: http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/04/12/060412200622.3j2d0yzp.html
Americans will buy SUVs even if gas hits four dollars a gallon: Ford
Apr 12 4:06 PM US/Eastern
A core group of US consumers will continue to buy large sports utility vehicles (SUVs) even if gasoline prices rise to four dollars a gallon and stay that way, a senior executive at the Ford Motor Company said.
"There is a certain portion of the marketplace and customers who want that flexibility that is provided with a traditional SUV," Mark Fields, president of the automaker's Americas division, said during a conference with analysts.
"So I don't think our strategy would change too much."
High gasoline (petrol) prices, which currently top three dollars a gallon in some critical US retail markets, have already cut into sales of Ford's gas-guzzling large SUVs.
Fields said the company had forecast prices to be in the 2.50 to three dollar range this year and as a result has focused on expanding sales of cars and smaller more fuel-efficient crossover sports utility vehicles.
Fields said the automaker is also on track to sell 900,000 of its F-series trucks this year.
"That's more than double the sales of the industry's best-selling car," he told analysts.
A shift away from highly profitable sports utility vehicles has played a large role in the massive financial losses Ford's North American automotive sector posted last year.
The company reacted with a plan to shutter 14 plants, lay off up to 30,000 workers and to change the way it does business.
Fields reiterated the company's commitment to returning its North American operations to profitability by 2008 and to stabilizing its declining US market share.
"We believe our plan is comprehensive and we are starting to make progress," Fields said. "We know there's still a lot of work to do."
Fields said the company's objective is "to first stop the rate of loss of share and ultimately grow it," but he would not comment on whether he anticipated Ford would be able to regain market share from Asian rivals or would have to battle it out with domestic automakers General Motors and Chrysler.
He said the company had done significant market share research and found that a large group of customers were committed to buying American brands if the automakers were able to deliver attractive products.
"There is a certain core of customers who buy imports and will only buy imports," he acknowledged.
When asked whether recent credit ratings downgrades have affected the company's ability to offer customers competitive financing options due to rising costs for financing the company's massive debt load, Fields said the company's financial branch "continues to have a very strong liquidity position and funding flexibility.
"I'm very confident we have the resources to support our business going forward but as you know that continues to play out."
Americans will buy SUVs even if gas hits four dollars a gallon: Ford
Apr 12 4:06 PM US/Eastern
A core group of US consumers will continue to buy large sports utility vehicles (SUVs) even if gasoline prices rise to four dollars a gallon and stay that way, a senior executive at the Ford Motor Company said.
"There is a certain portion of the marketplace and customers who want that flexibility that is provided with a traditional SUV," Mark Fields, president of the automaker's Americas division, said during a conference with analysts.
"So I don't think our strategy would change too much."
High gasoline (petrol) prices, which currently top three dollars a gallon in some critical US retail markets, have already cut into sales of Ford's gas-guzzling large SUVs.
Fields said the company had forecast prices to be in the 2.50 to three dollar range this year and as a result has focused on expanding sales of cars and smaller more fuel-efficient crossover sports utility vehicles.
Fields said the automaker is also on track to sell 900,000 of its F-series trucks this year.
"That's more than double the sales of the industry's best-selling car," he told analysts.
A shift away from highly profitable sports utility vehicles has played a large role in the massive financial losses Ford's North American automotive sector posted last year.
The company reacted with a plan to shutter 14 plants, lay off up to 30,000 workers and to change the way it does business.
Fields reiterated the company's commitment to returning its North American operations to profitability by 2008 and to stabilizing its declining US market share.
"We believe our plan is comprehensive and we are starting to make progress," Fields said. "We know there's still a lot of work to do."
Fields said the company's objective is "to first stop the rate of loss of share and ultimately grow it," but he would not comment on whether he anticipated Ford would be able to regain market share from Asian rivals or would have to battle it out with domestic automakers General Motors and Chrysler.
He said the company had done significant market share research and found that a large group of customers were committed to buying American brands if the automakers were able to deliver attractive products.
"There is a certain core of customers who buy imports and will only buy imports," he acknowledged.
When asked whether recent credit ratings downgrades have affected the company's ability to offer customers competitive financing options due to rising costs for financing the company's massive debt load, Fields said the company's financial branch "continues to have a very strong liquidity position and funding flexibility.
"I'm very confident we have the resources to support our business going forward but as you know that continues to play out."