Ford might be the most exposed to the changed auto landscape forced by Australia’s tough new emissions laws.
The Blue Oval is the number two brand in Australia thanks to impressive sales of its Ranger ute and Everest 4x4 SUV, and more than 90 per cent of its sales are turbo diesels.
To make matters worse for Ford, the brand has globally discontinued the smaller but strong-selling 2.0-litre bi-turbo diesel, making the higher-emitting new 3.0-litre turbodiesel V6 likely to be the brand’s best seller going forward.
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Australia’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) places fines on brands that sell too many vehicles above a C02 limit.
Ford’s Australian Marketing Director Ambrose Henderson explained how Ford is being driven by customer demand rather than emissions limitations going forward, as it doubles down on its top-selling internal combustion powered models.
“When we look at a vehicle and our business, and the decision on whether we bring that vehicle [to Australia] or not, of course NVES is an ingredient to that. But, it’s only one factor in a really broad range of things we assess and we need to work with,” he explained.
“There’s exchange rates and material costs and labor rates and all sorts of things around the world which impact the business case for a vehicle.
“What it comes down to is what do customers want? What do they actually need? If you don’t deliver on that then it doesn’t matter what equation you come up with, you can’t sell it. So it has to be about that."
Henderson said one of Ford’s unique advantages in Australia is its local division, which remains substantial even in the era of post-local manufacturing.
“We’re the largest automotive employer in Australia and we have our designers and engineers right here in Melbourne, more than 1500 of them, who design and engineer Ranger and Everest for the world - and they’re seeing success around the world.”
“We understand Australian customers, Australian roads and Australian environments and that’s allowed us to achieve that success.”
Henderson said the plan to transition to more emissions-friendly models would continue to be driven by buyers, and said Ford thinks there are limitations with electrified technologies in Australia.
“We’ll obviously transition over time as our customers are able to get the capability and the experience out of the cars that they’re really looking for.”
“We have the broadest range of powertrains available in the ute segment out of any other brand - we have a four-cylinder diesel, a six-cylinder diesel, the performance petrol engine in the Raptor and the hybrid powertrain available in Ranger PHEV. We’ve done that specifically to provide the choice and those options that our customers are actually seeking,” he said.
What would really help Ford in the short term is a better performing pure electric model.
The brand’s Mustang Mach-E continues to struggle on the sales charts, moving just 483 units in the last year.
“If you think about where Ford does really well - providing that capability to travel around Australia and provide the ability to do those kinds of 4x4 activities - for those types of applications there still needs to be more investment from an infrastructure point of view to make those things more viable.”
The brand’s success in the 4x4 market could be its downfall in the long run. The Everest remains the top-selling large SUV, and is diesel only, with no PHEV model to be seen yet. The Ranger PHEV is noticeably limited on the EV range front compared to its primary rivals the GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV and smash-hit BYD Shark 6.
At least one relief for Ford executives is the Ranger Super Duty, which is in a category above the usual ute crop, and is immune from being counted against the brand's C02 total for the year.
It could be the emissions-forward knowledge from China, which helps Ford in the short-term, as it’s hard to see any emissions-friendly models from its European range landing a knock-out blow in any segment in Australia.
Sources have told CarsGuide Ford will bring a Chinese-built version of the Bronco monocoque SUV to Australia, offering the brand a blocky off-road styled mid-sized SUV right in a popular sales segment the brand needs to bring its fleet average down.
The Chinese Bronco adopts the trendy blocky styling of the rest of the Bronco range, whilst offering either fully electric or range-extender hybrid powertrains, both of which could serve to carve chunks out of Ford’s local emissions footprint.
When again asked about models like the Bronco from the brand’s Chinese line-up, Henderson had nothing to add to comments made to CarsGuide earlier about the model.
“We’re always evaluating what we’ve got in the global portfolio,” he said. We have nothing to announce for today, but we’ll continue to assess that.”
