Ford Shakes Its Upper Management Tree

The Ford Motor Company continues to embrace change, an ongoing process that seems to have gained steam ever since Alan Mulally flew away from Boeing to take over the automaker’s reigns in 2006.

Before then Bill Ford was in charge, an executive with a friendly face but not known as someone possessing the business acumen needed to ensure that Ford would survive its second century. Bill’s role as executive chairman today is mostly benign, officiating over ribbon-cutting events while reassuring Ford family faithful that their investment remains on solid ground.

Asset Sale

With Alan in charge, he did the unthinkable by hocking all of the company’s assets in order to gain access to tens of billions of dollars of cash, money needed to transform the automaker from a weak national contender to a manufacturer of exciting and high quality passenger vehicles. That move kept Ford out of bankruptcy and away from the same hand guiding the restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler.

Following Ford’s May announcement that Mercury would be closed down in the fourth quarter of this year and that Lincoln would soon benefit from as many as seven new or vastly updated models over the next four years, Ford signaled that it would continue to make whatever changes are necessary to keep the momentum going.

Volvo Deal

On Wednesday, Ford announced three executive changes each of which will take place once Ford closes on its deal to sell Volvo to China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Limited before the third quarter ends. Those changes are:

John Fleming, 58, Ford executive vice president currently serving dual roles as Chairman and CEO of Ford of Europe and head of Global Manufacturing and Labor affairs, will lead the company’s Global Manufacturing & Labor Affairs operations.

Stephen Odell, 55, currently CEO of Volvo Cars, is appointed a Ford group vice president and succeeds Fleming as chairman and CEO of Ford of Europe.

Stuart Rowley, 43, chief financial officer of Volvo, becomes chief financial officer, Ford of Europe.

In addition, Jim Farley, 48, will take an expanded role as Ford’s global leader for marketing, sales and service around the world. Currently, Farley is Ford group vice president, Global Marketing and Canada, Mexico and South America operation.

One Ford

Ford says it is reorganizing its operations in Canada, Mexico and South America. On August 1, Eduardo Serrano, 50, who is currently president and CEO of Ford of Mexico, will become executive director, Latin America, with responsibility for the company’s operations in Mexico and South America. Serrano and Ford of Canada president David Mondragon will report to Mark Fields, Ford executive vice president and president of the Americas.

Related to the announcement Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally commented, “These moves allow us to strengthen our global team as we accelerate our One Ford plan and continue to profitably grow serving our customers around the world.”

Source: Ford Motor Company

Ford Enjoys September European Sales Surge

The Ford Motor Company has been enjoying some success lately, with its hybrid models well received, the Taurus getting rave reviews, while several Lincoln models are performing quite well. On the home front, Ford is doing its best to separate itself from its chief competitors – General Motors and Chrysler.

Ford Improves Internationally

Internationally, Ford is beginning to see some strong improvements too with Asian and Latin American sales advancing. Importantly, sales in Europe are also on the rise, climbing by 12.3% for September 2009 as 152,600 vehicles were sold. That effort also means that Ford’s market share in Europe is up, hitting 10.1%.

Ford credits its success in Europe with the introduction of a pair of new models – its tiny Ka and subcompact Fiesta. In addition, aggressive car scrappage programs conducted in several companies helped to bolster sales, the first time since September 2001 that Ford’s share of the market was in double-digits.

“Traditionally we expect Ford to have a good month in September given the surge of new car sales in the UK due to the registration plate change, but September 2009 has surpassed expectations,” said Ingvar Sviggum, Ford of Europe’s Vice-President for Marketing, Sales and Service. This really was an outstanding performance. I’d like to thank Ford employees, our dealers and, most of all, our customers, for helping to achieve such a strong performance in September.

Three Biggest Sellers

Ford remains the market leader in the United Kingdom and was also top in sales in Ireland, Turkey, Denmark and Hungary for the month. Ford of Europe’s three top-selling vehicles (19 main markets) were the Fiesta (51,400), Focus (32,100), and Mondeo (13,300). 11,700 units of the Ford Ka were also sold last month.

“Our continuing success in gaining market share despite the difficult economic situation shows that customers are willing to place their faith in Ford because we are providing them with the exciting and innovative new vehicles that they want to buy. This is particularly true of the new Ford Fiesta, which achieved its highest September sales volume since 1994.”

Fiesta, Focus For America

The Fiesta along with the European Focus will go on sale in the United States next year. Right now, one hundred Fiestas are being tested across the country, in a bid to gain customer feedback and to promote the model. Following the Fiesta’s debut next Spring, the Focus is expected to arrive by the fall. The Fiesta and Focus are part of a “One Ford” strategy where the automaker will share models across all of its markets.

See Also — Ford C-Max North American Bound?

Ford C-Max: North American Bound?

The Ford C-Max is a five passenger multi-purpose vehicle that is built and sold in Europe. The second generation model will be unveiled at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show with an announcement that the vehicle is heading to North America pending.

In advance of its debut at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show next month, the next generation Ford C-Max is generating a lot of buzz for Ford. Based on the same platform powering the all new Ford Focus, the C-Max is a compact multi-purpose vehicle, smaller than any crossover currently in Ford’s North American fleet.

Six European Models Heading Stateside

When the Ford Motor Company announced in 2008 that it would bring as many as six European designed vehicles to the American market, we quickly learned that the Transit Connect, Fiesta and Focus would be part of the first wave. The tiny Ka was mentioned by some automotive analysts as well as the Kuga, a midsize MPV.

But Ford has several other models which could come to North America, including the C-Max. Yesterday, word began to seep out online that the C-Max will head to our shores, an announcement Ford has yet to publicly confirm. Auto Trends believes that the C-Max announcement will either coincide with the Frankfurt unveiling or be handled separately in advance of the show.

Yet Another Thrifty Ford

No matter, if rumors about the C-Max are true, then Ford will have yet another thrifty, but roomy passenger vehicle available for sale. Sporting a steeply raked windshield, the C-Max offers seating for up to five passengers and is powered by a 1.6L I4 engine. However, for the American market, expect Ford to put a slightly larger 2.0L I4 engine underneath the hood, perhaps pairing it with a six-speed automatic transmission.

Interestingly, the Ford C-Max could end up being one of the first Ford models to be paired with Ford’s upcoming 2.0L EcoBoost I4 engine, which would give the MPV V6 power while retaining I4 fuel economy. That engine will likely find its way under the hood of the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan first, with the C-Max and perhaps the Focus also offering that option.

Currently built in Germany, will the North American introduction of the Ford C-Max coincide with building the car in Mexico? If so, the Focus, Fiesta and C-Max would all be built in Mexico for export to the United States and Canada.

Photo Courtesy of the Ford Motor Company.

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