What's Up With Ford?

We are all familiar with the dramatic happenings in the automotive industry over the past few years that have left no manufacturer untouched in terms of the effect it has had on their bottom line and the loyalty seen by it’s customers. Through all that has occurred only a hand full have managed to come out of it relatively unscathed and Ford Motor Company seems to be emerging as the sole American automaker who is in a great position financially which has helped them to survive the steepest sales downturn in decades without a government bailout. All of this has helped the company improve its reputation and win new customers.

Ford has reported consecutive quarters recently with steadily rising profits, which has attributed to higher sales that has produced its largest pretax operating profit in six years. According to statistics available, Ford has managed to outsell General Motors in the first quarter of 2010 which is something that had not happened in more than 50 years.

Many local dealerships are seeing a steady rise in their overall sales numbers of new Ford products. Cincinnati Ford Dealers are no exception to the rule with some claiming double digit increases as we progress through the summer.

A great deal of Ford’s recent success can be attributed to management changes that have taken place over the past several years. With an influx of fresh ideas and strong management skills focused on delivering what the public is looking for in terms of price, quality and style while not giving up the luxury that has been a spotlight with Ford and Lincoln Mercury over the years has helped Ford to position themselves to become the leader in American made automobiles.

Ford has shed itself of many of the high end luxury divisions such as Land Rover and Jaguar in an effort to focus on the more profitable areas of the company. Most recently Ford has announced the sale of its Volvo division to a Chinese company along with the pending shutdown of its Mercury division which it says will cease by year end.

Recent deliveries such as the 2010 Ford Mustang and the all new 2011 Ford Explorer has the industry talking about the fuel efficiencies and great deal of amenities that each brings to the table. With everyone concerned about the cost of gas and looking more heavily at gas consumption and wanting more fuel efficiencies, Ford has seen an dramatic increase in the hybrid sales with as much as a 67 percent increase this year alone , despite an overall industry slump of 11 percent.

Ford reports that it has sold more than 31,000 of its hybrid cars through the end of last year. A great deal of their success can be attributed to introductions of vehicles such as the Ford Fusion Hybrid and Mercury Milan Hybrid. Each vehicle gets up to 41 mpg in the city and 36 mpg on the highway.

While Ford is now working to reinvent its vehicle fleet in an effort to focus on future fuels, it is doing so to try and meet the demands of the emerging economies which the company sees as an area where the company can play a pivotal role. Realizing that the trend towards continued population growth in western worlds is continuing, transportation will become even more increasingly important. When looking at cities in countries such as China, India and Indonesia, Ford says the current infrastructures of each will not be able to support the needs of the middle class.