Ford has big plans in store for 2013
AFTER A STRONG SHOWING LAST YEAR, automaker looks to the future, and plans to revitalize the Lincoln brand
Despite all the economic uncertainty that was swirling over Canada in 2012, the auto industry experienced a surprisingly strong showing.
Sales were up 5.7 per cent over 2011, reaching 1.68 million units in the country, led once again by a strong showing from Ford.
With just over 276,000 vehicles sold, the North American automaker remained atop the Canadian automotive landscape for the third straight year.
Dianne Craig, who took over as president and CEO of Ford Motor Co. of Canada in November 2011 — nearly midway through the company’s surge here — says the 2012 figures were a surprise.
“At the beginning of the year (2012), we weren’t forecasting as aggressively as an industry. We thought we would be up a little, maybe one to two points,” she said. “As it turned out, we approached a near-record industry in 2012.”
Craig pointed out that the success of the auto industry is good news on many fronts, — and not just for the car companies.
The veteran of 26 years in the automotive industry is especially proud of the fact Ford has remained the market leader in Canada despite a rebound in sales from competitors, some of which were hampered in previous years by natural disasters, such as the tsunami in Japan.
“We knew we had our work cut out for us to finish the year as the market leader and we are very, very proud,” Craig said, highlighting new products like the Fusion and Escape as reasons for the company’s success.
She addressed the issue of the numerous recalls surrounding the Escape, saying they are all behind the company now.
“In the case of the Escape, when we had the recalls, here’s what is most important: that you react quickly,” she said. “You identify a problem, you come up with a fix and you get the customer taken care of.
“You can take a thing like that (the recall) and turn them into opportunities because of the way you handle it.
“We certainly think we have solved the problem” with the Escape, she added.
In Quebec, Ford sales were up two per cent in 2012 and “we maintained our share despite the fact we lost one product, which was the Ford Ranger,” said Bertrand Lessard, general manager for Ford in Quebec.
He credits the new Escape and Fusion for the success, despite the fact both arrived late in the year. When they finally did arrive, they were selling so well that dealers could not get enough to meet the demand.
“Shame on us,” Lessard said. “It’s a good problem to have, but it was still a problem.”
Ford is known for its trucks, and they are also very popular in Quebec, Lessard said.
There were more than 100,000 F Series pickup trucks sold in Canada in 2012, and while the Quebec market doesn’t sell a high volume of pickups, when they do, they are usually Fords.
“We are a player and we built that reputation over the last five years. And we did it on our own.”
FORD MOTOR COMPANY OF CANADA PRESIDENT AND CEO DIANNE CRAIG
“What is fun is that in Quebec, almost one pickup truck out of two is a Ford,” Lessard said. “We have the best pickup truck market share than anywhere else on the planet.”
Looking ahead to 2013, Craig said things look to be even better for the industry, with a forecast of 1.76 million vehicles sold. That would be a record year for Canada, topping the 1.73 million set more than a decade ago.
“This is really an exciting time for our industry,” she said, adding that she believes Ford’s current lineup is the best she has seen in her time with the company.
“We are a player and we built that reputation over the last five years,” Craig said. “And we did it on our own, and we are really proud of that.”
Lessard believes a big opportunity for growth in Quebec and Canada for the company lies with the Lincoln brand, which unveiled the all-new MKZ and the MKZ hybrid at the Montreal International Auto Show.
During a discussion at the show, Lessard told The Gazette the company has high hopes for the MKZ and other new models, which are coming in the next few months and years. One glimpse into the future came in Detroit when the MKC concept vehicle was unveiled.
With that, the brand, which the company hopes to establish as a more upscale offering, is set to be reborn, Lessard said.
“We want to become something different from the luxury brand,” he said, admitting that Lincoln will never be a BMW or Mercedes-Benz. “We want Lincoln to be an experience. Yes, the vehicle will be part of it. But the experience at the dealership will be quite different.”
Part of that difference will be a total revamp of the actual bricks and mortar of Lincoln dealerships across Canada.
“Just in Quebec, in the last two years, there has been more than $100 million invested to rebuild and that will continue in 2013,” Lessard said, adding that 70 per cent of the dealerships in Quebec have been updated already. He expects that by the end of 2013 every dealership in the province will meet the new criteria.
And one other new initiative will also differentiate the Lincoln experience from other brands: Lincoln Date Night.
Jamie Rae, Lincoln’s product marketing manager in Canada, told a group of journalists that the idea is to give prospective buyers 24 to 48 hours with a Lincoln vehicle, and provide them with a certain amount of money to spend on dinner.