KIA outsells Ford in May

[Vesper Martini]

Sounds like you now on board with Kia Dazz?

[Ben73]

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

If you look at the statistics regarding warranty returns they are near the top with the least warranty issues.

Bettering Lexus, BMW and MB if I recall?

Having a well built product resulting in fewer warranty issues must have something to do with it? Right?

Everyone is better than Mercedes. For some reason Mercedes seem to get let off with very little unreliability criticism while other brands cop it hard.

They are usually one of the worst brands when it comes to number of warranty claims and they had the most number of recalls in Australia last year.

[Vesper Martini]

Recalls are to fix things where previously dealerships of Australian built cars just told you they all do that...

[uranium_death]

15 years ago, majority of Ford sales were Territory and Falcon
For Holden, imports couldn't move as better offerings were everywhere else
Holden carked because once Commodore disappeared, they had nothing credible to sell.

Even now, Ford is selling almost purely due to the Ranger platform. Take that away, and there are little sales. Too many eggs in one basket for my liking. Where would Ford Australia be if Ranger didn't hit a sweet spot?

A brand like Toyota have strong sales in almost every single department. Brand image sort of does that. Marketing plays a role in cultivating that image, as does word of mouth

Ford need to almost reboot the Focus' image. It's tainted. It may be too good a vehicle to just let it flap in the breeze, and the market segment is too competitive to just sit back and expect it to sell itself.

I see nothing of the Escape, anywhere. People go to CX-5s in droves.

The SUV market accounts for 50% of national sales now, but Ford is too passive in this segment. Give people a reason to believe they want the vehicle, regardless of whether they need it or not

[russellw]

The graphical stats for May 2021 are now uploaded to the Tech portal.

[DFB FGXR6]

I'm predicting that the remainder of the Focus range (ST-Line and ST) will be gone from Australia before years end. Fiesta ST too.

[Crazy Dazz]

Originally Posted by fiestaz

Did you know Kias and Hyundai’s are essentially the same? Same platforms, same motors, same tech with different styling and (to a point) specs?

No, I specifically mentioned Hyundai in a thread about Kia, because I thought they were completely different

[Crazy Dazz]

Originally Posted by uranium_death

Ford need to almost reboot the Focus' image. It's tainted. It may be too good a vehicle to just let it flap in the breeze, and the market segment is too competitive to just sit back and expect it to sell itself.

At one point Focus was the best mass-market car in the world. To the point that there was a deal on the table to build them here.
Ford destroyed that with the PowerShart and refused to rectify it in a timely manner.
Then when they finally got it back on track, they decided the timing was ripe to market it as a "Premium" model

What I don't understand about Ford, is that they seem to have bought into the nonsense that "people aren't buying Passenger cars anymore." But if anything, people are buying more! Sure, the shape has changed, but so what, shapes have been changing since the Model-T. Your average modern "SUV" is a taller FWD wagon, usually built on exactly the same platform as their Hatchback predecessors. With The Territory going, I assumed that FoA would transition to imported "SUVs", built on passenger platforms like everyone else. But apart from the token smaller options (which they also screwed with PowerShart) we've seen nothing.

Obviously I'm no big fan of Korean or Thai cars, but if Kia and many others can make a quid flogging them, why can't Ford?

[fiestaz]

Originally Posted by Crazy Dazz

No, I specifically mentioned Hyundai in a thread about Kia, because I thought they were completely different

It didn’t seem like you knew the link between them.

[hayseed]

Originally Posted by fiestaz

It didn’t seem like you knew the link between them.

I think Dazz's sarcasm has gone over Your Head......

[fiestaz]

Originally Posted by hayseed

I think Dazz's sarcasm has gone over Your Head......

No it didn’t. It was a genuine comment to his response a number of replies ago

[MercuryT]

Ford have no cars worth buying.

It's no wonder KIA have gone ahead.

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by MercuryT

Ford have no cars worth buying.

It's no wonder KIA have gone ahead.

Bit of a long bow to draw.
Not everyone has the same taste.

[au2000]

Well sales numbers for individual models would indicate he is not far off.. unless you want a ranger of course..

Crazy Dazz made a good point. If the koreans can make a car and make money in the cheaper segments why cant ford?

Most of my friends when talking of looking for a new car dont even mention Ford.

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by au2000

Well sales numbers for individual models would indicate he is not far off.. unless you want a ranger of course..

Crazy Dazz made a good point. If the koreans can make a car and make money in the cheaper segments why cant ford?

Most of my friends when talking of looking for a new car dont even mention Ford.

I'd buy a focus ST/Fiesta ST. Along with a mustang.
Ranger is of no interest
I get the point to a certain extent.

[au2000]

Yeah it would be a mustang for me tbh, nothing else in the range gets my eye, for anything else, I’d look at the other makes tbh.

[jpd80]

An interesting question for Ford will be how to change
1. Everest so that it goes from 500/mth sales to Prado’s 2,000/mth
2. Escape hybrid to an affordable entry model that rivals RAV4 hybrid
3. Base Puma name to Puma Titanium and add a Trend model below it
4. Add the new mid-sized Mondeo replacement and call it “Fusion”

There are lots of opportunities to make progress but Ford also needs
to take responsibility for low sales and start giving buyers what they want.

[Dr Smith]

Originally Posted by jpd80

An interesting question for Ford will be how to change
1. Everest so that it goes from 500/mth sales to Prado’s 2,000/mth
2. Escape hybrid to an affordable entry model that rivals RAV4 hybrid
3. Base Puma name to Puma Titanium and add a Trend model below it
4. Add the new mid-sized Mondeo replacement and call it “Fusion”

There are lots of opportunities to make progress, but Ford also needs
to take responsibility for low sales and start giving buyers what they want.

I know we are all pseudo-CEO's of Ford Aust. (and I mean that with the greatest of positive respect) however does Ford Aust have the ability with what product it's going to be given be able to do this?
Even I went to a VW dealer to suss out a V6 Amarok to replace one of my vehicles today.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by Dr Smith

I know we are all pseudo-CEO's of Ford Aust. (and I mean that with the greatest of positive respect) however does Ford Aust have the ability with what product it's going to be given be able to do this?
Even I went to a VW dealer to suss out a V6 Amarok to replace one of my vehicles today.

IMO, FoA has a big say on the NG Everest exactly because it was supposed
to be a Prado rival here and in other countries. From that stand point it has
to be Ford Asia’s (or whatever it’s called now) second most important
product after Ranger, so in its best interest to refine the target audience.

The next most important product in our region would be Escape hybrid,
both Australia and USA need to find a way to improve its standing against
the hybrid RAV4 which is selling gangbusters.

I have to admit that the last two, Puma and Mondeo are both sentimental
favourites that I would like given more of a chance in our region, especially
if Ford now recognises that it’s pricing policy was a bit extreme for buyers in
our market.

Rather than being dismissive, I choose to look at areas where improvement
is possible if the desire to do so still exists….

[bb_zetec]

Its a shame that they stopped making Wagons.

We have a VE Wagon that we recently sold because it was getting long in the tooth (203,000klms) and now are looking to replace it with a VF Series 2.

Ford Does not make anything that fits that car like vehicle that comfortably seats 5 with room in the back for everything.

Not everybody wants a big dual cab ute. I find the dual cab tray to be very small in comparison to a good wagon. you can fold the seats down and fit close to 2.4m timbers in without any issue. The VE/VF also fold down entirely in the back giving heaps of space.

What passenger cars to Ford even sell at the moment? All i think of when i hear Ford now is Ranger and Mustang...and thats what most people would think too id imagine.

The Kiayundai siblings seem to be making a killing in the small, medium and SUV market. Perhaps marketing and value for money have something to do with it. Ford and Marketing really have never gone together well.

[Poetic Justice]

Originally Posted by bb_zetec

What passenger cars to Ford even sell at the moment? All i think of when i hear Ford now is Ranger and Mustang...and thats what most people would think too id imagine.

Well, yeah, that's pretty well the case.

[Crazy Dazz]

Originally Posted by DJM83

I'd buy a focus ST/Fiesta ST.

No doubt these are streets ahead of the low-cost competition, but Ford needs to use those Hero models, to sell more of the down-spec stuff out of Thailand.

Otherwise they don't get enough global volume and the models die off (like the Mondeo)
Seems to me that a lot of Fords marketing is still stuck in the last century.
The later Mondeos were bloody good cars. But Ford stuck to same old nonsense of trying to sell 3 different trim levels of essentially the same car.
To facilitate this, the base models were given deliberately horrible interiors and denied features that were standard on their competitors. And to get all the bells and whistles, you had to pay a ridiculous premium to get the Titanium.

I hate the idea of new Fords coming out of Thailand (and other e-cheapo production facilities), but that's the reality we've been saddled with, so why not make the most of it.

[fiestaz]

Originally Posted by Crazy Dazz

No doubt these are streets ahead of the low-cost competition, but Ford needs to use those Hero models, to sell more of the down-spec stuff out of Thailand.

Otherwise they don't get enough global volume and the models die off (like the Mondeo)
Seems to me that a lot of Fords marketing is still stuck in the last century.
The later Mondeos were bloody good cars. But Ford stuck to same old nonsense of trying to sell 3 different trim levels of essentially the same car.
To facilitate this, the base models were given deliberately horrible interiors and denied features that were standard on their competitors. And to get all the bells and whistles, you had to pay a ridiculous premium to get the Titanium.

I hate the idea of new Fords coming out of Thailand, but that's the reality we've been saddled with, so why not make the most of it.

What new fords apart from ranger and Everest come from
Thailand?

[Crazy Dazz]

Originally Posted by Vesper Martini

Sounds like you now on board with Kia Dazz?

I wouldn't buy one for myself, but then I wouldn't buy most of the mass-market stuff available nowdays. And that's not because I'm an auto-snob, its because I don't have to.

When I went shopping for my daughters:

1. We actually came close to buying a Kia, but got an exceptional deal on a new Lancer.
2. Looked at a variety of small-mid SUV's, but in the end went with a Pug.
3. Didn't really like the Kias etc that were available in her price range, but in the end got a great deal on a Equinox.

[Crazy Dazz]

Originally Posted by fiestaz

What new fords apart from ranger and Everest come from
Thailand?

In the context of getting volume sales, not enough.
At one point the Focus & Festiva were going to be built there, but at the moment they're only bringing them in from Germany, and they are overpriced. BY all means bring the hero models in from Europe, but they should be filling out the range with the Thai (or wherever) models.

And as for the rest, the Puma, Kuga, Zuma, Buma, etc, it's like the United-Nations, so Ford should have an even bigger advantage when it comes to competing.

[bb_zetec]

One thing we have to think of too is that when this dual cab ute craze dies off what position will Ford be left in?

I hope they wont pull a GM and then abandon all RHD Markets, but Ford of Europe seems to be doing OK for now.

The future is dependant on what happens to ICE and Diesel i guess, the aust. car market may become a backwater if we dont adapt quick enough, and the only cars we may be able to buy are the ones form the chinese we are starting to loathe so much.

[BAWITHLOT]

Originally Posted by csv8

"Kia has overtaken Ford, Mitsubishi and its sister brand Hyundai in a major upset that catapulted the brand to third place in the new-car sales race in May 2021.

It is the first time Kia has outsold Ford in a monthly sales race, the second time it has ranked in third place, and the third time it has beaten Hyundai.

Kia reported a record 7124 vehicles as sold in May 2021, a year-on-year increase of 158 per cent in a market that lifted by 67.5 per cent following sharp slowdowns this time last year.

Significantly, Kia has also overtaken Ford in the year-to-date sales tally for the first five months of 2020."
https://www.caradvice.com.au/957862/...ock-shortages/

If you have reliable cars available for sale, you would outsell any brand!

Maybe Ford should try having cars available and a bit cheaper instead of pushing up the price due to hype and unavailability!?

[Syndrome]

Oh the days when Ford dominated the new car market and sold in 1 in 4 vehicles (1980s).

[Sprintey]

I just want an AWD (full time) wagon that has great ride/handling with petrol I6 and a normal gearbox, like my Territory. Maybe a Suby Outback, even though it's not the same mechanical spec I hear they've made the CVT into a faux 8 speed and have good full time AWD... Or an X5/FPace/RRS at 2x+ the price (the JLRs are introducing petrol and diesel I6s now)

Maybe the coming Mazda I6 CX5 will fit the bill at somewhere near the sensational value proposition the TX Territory AWD was from it's release.

Could you take a 2016 petrol RWD Territory and convert to AWD using the SYII subframe/bits?

[MercuryT]

Originally Posted by DJM83

Bit of a long bow to draw.
Not everyone has the same taste.

Not really.

Sales speak for themselves.