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UPDATED WITH FORD PRESS RELEASE:
Saw this on Detroit News:
Ford to add 4 all-new SUVs to lineup in next few years
Ford Motor Co. will add four all-new sport utility vehicles to its Ford and Lincoln brand vehicle lineups in a “few years” time, the automaker confirmed Monday.
The Dearborn automaker would not comment directly on what vehicles it would introduce, nor would it define what a “few years” means. SUVs are among the hottest segments in the auto industry now as consumers are choosing them over somewhat more fuel-efficient cars in the wake of lower gas prices.
“We study lots of things,” Ford President of the Americas Joe Hinrichs told reporters Monday. “SUVs are hot, no question about it. We have a strong brand for SUVs and a strong customer base. Opportunities for SUVs are important to us.”
Ford’s SUV lineup includes the Edge, Escape, Explorer and Expedition. Lincoln has the MKC and larger MKX, MKT and Navigator.
Ford said Monday that one in three cars in the U.S. market sold today are SUVs, and it’s expecting that eventually in the next four years, SUVs will make up 40 percent of the U.S. auto market.
Ford-brand SUVs totaled 65,675 sales last month – a 13 percent increase versus a year ago, for the best December performance since 2003. Edge sales rose 29 percent, Escape sales rose 9 percent and Explorer sales rose 14 percent. MKC sales rose 88 percent, while MKX and MKT sales fell.
One of Ford’s likeliest options would be a subcompact SUV. The automaker sells the subcompact EcoSport in Europe. Former CEO Alan Mulally said previously that Ford would eventually bring the EcoSport stateside, but didn’t offer a timeline.
When asked if the EcoSport would easily be transferred from Europe to the United States, Hinrichs said, “I don’t know.”
The automaker also could revive its Bronco SUV. Bloomberg reported last year that Ford entered contract talks with the United Auto Workers hoping to bring the Bronco to Michigan Assembly Plant.
Lincoln executives have said the brand would introduce two more new vehicles to its luxury lineup by the end of the decade, but have so far declined to offer any details.
FORD TO ADD FOUR NEW SUV NAMEPLATES AS MILLENNIALS, BOOMERS, GLOBAL DEMAND DRIVE CONTINUED SUV GROWTH
- Ford will add four new nameplates to its global SUV lineup in the next four years in segments in which company does not currently compete
- Millennials starting families lends strong support to ongoing SUV boom in the United States
- As baby boomers age, they’re more likely to stay in or return to SUVs
- Increased fuel efficiency of Ford’s newest utility vehicles makes consumers less sensitive to fuel costs
CHICAGO, Feb. 11, 2016 –Together, millennials and baby boomers give Ford 160 million good reasons to expect the surge in SUV sales will continue into the next decade.
Growth in SUV sales is expected to continue – not only in the United States, but around the world – and why Ford is adding four new SUVs in the next four years – all four in SUV segments in which the company does not currently compete.
“As members of the 80-million-strong millennial age group enter their prime child-rearing years, a leading indicator of more SUV sales, nearly 80 million aging baby boomers continue to prefer their SUVs,” said Mark LaNeve, Ford Motor Company vice president of Marketing, Sales and Service. “It’s a demographic double whammy and it all points to one thing – more SUVs for the foreseeable future.”
LaNeve cited recent Ford research that shows once millennials even begin thinking about starting a family, their interest in shopping for SUVs goes up significantly. And as many have delayed starting families, these yet-to-form family households represent additional SUV growth opportunities for the company.
Yet millennials alone aren’t expected to drive SUV growth – aging baby boomers tend to stay with or return to SUVs, in part because it’s easier to get in and out of a vehicle that sits higher off the ground than a passenger car. LaNeve also noted that many boomers feel younger and more active driving an SUV.
While low gas prices have contributed to the growth in SUVs in recent years, much improved fuel efficiency in the latest generation of utility vehicles leads Ford to believe a potential rise in gas prices wouldn’t push consumers back to passenger cars.
“Some SUVs now rival the fuel efficiency of V6-powered midsize sedans from only a few years ago,” said LaNeve, “and as baby boomers grew up with much less capable, much less efficient vehicles, they tend to appreciate the efficiency of Ford’s newest SUVs.” Even if gas prices go up, he added, refueling costs for owners of modern SUVs will be much less than they were during the last SUV boom.
https://media.ford.com/content/ford...2/11/ford-to-add-four-new-suv-nameplates.html
Saw this on Detroit News:
Ford to add 4 all-new SUVs to lineup in next few years
Ford Motor Co. will add four all-new sport utility vehicles to its Ford and Lincoln brand vehicle lineups in a “few years” time, the automaker confirmed Monday.
The Dearborn automaker would not comment directly on what vehicles it would introduce, nor would it define what a “few years” means. SUVs are among the hottest segments in the auto industry now as consumers are choosing them over somewhat more fuel-efficient cars in the wake of lower gas prices.
“We study lots of things,” Ford President of the Americas Joe Hinrichs told reporters Monday. “SUVs are hot, no question about it. We have a strong brand for SUVs and a strong customer base. Opportunities for SUVs are important to us.”
Ford’s SUV lineup includes the Edge, Escape, Explorer and Expedition. Lincoln has the MKC and larger MKX, MKT and Navigator.
Ford said Monday that one in three cars in the U.S. market sold today are SUVs, and it’s expecting that eventually in the next four years, SUVs will make up 40 percent of the U.S. auto market.
Ford-brand SUVs totaled 65,675 sales last month – a 13 percent increase versus a year ago, for the best December performance since 2003. Edge sales rose 29 percent, Escape sales rose 9 percent and Explorer sales rose 14 percent. MKC sales rose 88 percent, while MKX and MKT sales fell.
One of Ford’s likeliest options would be a subcompact SUV. The automaker sells the subcompact EcoSport in Europe. Former CEO Alan Mulally said previously that Ford would eventually bring the EcoSport stateside, but didn’t offer a timeline.
When asked if the EcoSport would easily be transferred from Europe to the United States, Hinrichs said, “I don’t know.”
The automaker also could revive its Bronco SUV. Bloomberg reported last year that Ford entered contract talks with the United Auto Workers hoping to bring the Bronco to Michigan Assembly Plant.
Lincoln executives have said the brand would introduce two more new vehicles to its luxury lineup by the end of the decade, but have so far declined to offer any details.
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