Fords new Fusion meeting and exceeding demand
12-12-05, 07:19 AM
#1
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Fords new Fusion meeting and exceeding demand
Ford dealers can't get enough Fusions; supply disruptions, high interest lead to low inventories
AMY WILSON | Automotive News
Posted Date: 12/12/05
DETROIT -- Dealers have one major complaint about the 2006 Ford Fusion: They can't get enough of them.
The new mid-sized sedan has posted stronger-than-targeted sales since it arrived in dealerships in late September, Ford Motor Co. says. But shipments to dealers still are below expectations because of supply disruptions at Ford's Hermosillo, Mexico, plant.
Ford assembles the Fusion and its Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr siblings at Hermosillo.
"Fusion is good," said Robert Thibodeau Jr. of Bob Thibodeau Ford in Center Line, Mich. "The only problem is Collins & Aikman (and) not getting enough of them."
Collins & Aikman, a large interior trim supplier going through Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring, has been a major contributor to the slowdown at Hermosillo, Ford officials have acknowledged. The most prominent stoppage occurred in early October, when an undisclosed number of production days were lost.
But there have been no major disruptions of late, said Tony Brown, Ford senior vice president of global purchasing.
"We're delivering product," Brown said. "It's not without difficulty. We've got a bunch of people from our side … along with (Collins & Aikman) people working to make sure we keep product flowing. And we'll continue to do that."
Collins & Aikman has experienced difficulties ramping up to full production in Hermosillo, acknowledged David Youngman, a spokesman for the supplier. But "we have made the Fusion, Zephyr, Milan launch our top priority and are working with support from the customer to fulfill all of our obligations."
Ford so far has produced just more than 52,000 Fusions, Milans and Zephyrs, Ford spokesman Paul Wood said. About 50,000 have been released, he said. Ford has sold 15,481 through November.
Ford is still short of its target to have produced around 55,000 vehicles by now. But the company is closing the gap, officials said. Hermosillo is now producing around 900 vehicles a day. Weekly production has exceeded the weekly target by an average of about 400 vehicles for each of the last several weeks, Wood said.
Dealers will welcome that additional volume.
Many dealers say the Fusion is garnering a level of attention not seen by Ford cars, other than the Mustang, in years.
"I am not getting enough of them right now, but as a dealer that's not bad," said Jerry Reynolds. of Prestige Ford in Garland, Texas, in an e-mail. "They are bringing a premium, and we have a waiting list for incoming vehicles."
AMY WILSON | Automotive News
Posted Date: 12/12/05
DETROIT -- Dealers have one major complaint about the 2006 Ford Fusion: They can't get enough of them.
The new mid-sized sedan has posted stronger-than-targeted sales since it arrived in dealerships in late September, Ford Motor Co. says. But shipments to dealers still are below expectations because of supply disruptions at Ford's Hermosillo, Mexico, plant.
Ford assembles the Fusion and its Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr siblings at Hermosillo.
"Fusion is good," said Robert Thibodeau Jr. of Bob Thibodeau Ford in Center Line, Mich. "The only problem is Collins & Aikman (and) not getting enough of them."
Collins & Aikman, a large interior trim supplier going through Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring, has been a major contributor to the slowdown at Hermosillo, Ford officials have acknowledged. The most prominent stoppage occurred in early October, when an undisclosed number of production days were lost.
But there have been no major disruptions of late, said Tony Brown, Ford senior vice president of global purchasing.
"We're delivering product," Brown said. "It's not without difficulty. We've got a bunch of people from our side … along with (Collins & Aikman) people working to make sure we keep product flowing. And we'll continue to do that."
Collins & Aikman has experienced difficulties ramping up to full production in Hermosillo, acknowledged David Youngman, a spokesman for the supplier. But "we have made the Fusion, Zephyr, Milan launch our top priority and are working with support from the customer to fulfill all of our obligations."
Ford so far has produced just more than 52,000 Fusions, Milans and Zephyrs, Ford spokesman Paul Wood said. About 50,000 have been released, he said. Ford has sold 15,481 through November.
Ford is still short of its target to have produced around 55,000 vehicles by now. But the company is closing the gap, officials said. Hermosillo is now producing around 900 vehicles a day. Weekly production has exceeded the weekly target by an average of about 400 vehicles for each of the last several weeks, Wood said.
Dealers will welcome that additional volume.
Many dealers say the Fusion is garnering a level of attention not seen by Ford cars, other than the Mustang, in years.
"I am not getting enough of them right now, but as a dealer that's not bad," said Jerry Reynolds. of Prestige Ford in Garland, Texas, in an e-mail. "They are bringing a premium, and we have a waiting list for incoming vehicles."
12-12-05, 08:36 AM
#2
Lexus Fanatic
Two things.
First, the fact that demand is exceeding supply, while nice for dealerships, is not unprecented....even for this car's predecessor, the Taurus. In 1985-65, when the Taurus was introduced, it was also a runaway hit.....the Taurus, Camry, and Accord see-sawed back and forth for years in a 3-way race for top-selling passenger car in the U.S. market.
Second, if it is hard to bargain on a Fusion, the smart person will go down the street to the Lincoln-Mercury shop where demand is less for the Fusion's more upscale twin, the Mercury Milan, take the extra bucks he WOULD have spent at the Ford shop, and get more car for the same amount of money.
Or, if he is even smarter, he'll just buy an Accord or a Camry and not take a chance on a new unproven product.
First, the fact that demand is exceeding supply, while nice for dealerships, is not unprecented....even for this car's predecessor, the Taurus. In 1985-65, when the Taurus was introduced, it was also a runaway hit.....the Taurus, Camry, and Accord see-sawed back and forth for years in a 3-way race for top-selling passenger car in the U.S. market.
Second, if it is hard to bargain on a Fusion, the smart person will go down the street to the Lincoln-Mercury shop where demand is less for the Fusion's more upscale twin, the Mercury Milan, take the extra bucks he WOULD have spent at the Ford shop, and get more car for the same amount of money.
Or, if he is even smarter, he'll just buy an Accord or a Camry and not take a chance on a new unproven product.
Last edited by mmarshall; 12-12-05 at 08:39 AM.
12-12-05, 09:42 AM
#4
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Yes, I agree...... there are worse ways to spend an automotive dollar. What I meant in the last post, though, was that unlike the Camer and Accord that they are aimed at, the Fusion / Milan are new and unproven in the reliability department. I have reviewed the Lincoln version of this car......the Zephyr......but it is considerably more upscale than its two less expensive brothers, and some of my Zephyr comments would not apply.
12-12-05, 09:50 AM
#5
Originally Posted by jracerlmn
dude....true enough, but the new milan and fusion actually look pretty damn good...
Tony
12-12-05, 09:53 AM
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Originally Posted by jracerlmn
dude....true enough, but the new milan and fusion actually look pretty damn good...
12-12-05, 11:55 AM
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Originally Posted by tmf2004
When i would shut the door it felt hollow and not solid like a lexus... Tony
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12-12-05, 03:53 PM
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Originally Posted by mmarshall
Two things.
First, the fact that demand is exceeding supply, while nice for dealerships, is not unprecented....even for this car's predecessor, the Taurus. In 1985-65, when the Taurus was introduced, it was also a runaway hit.....the Taurus, Camry, and Accord see-sawed back and forth for years in a 3-way race for top-selling passenger car in the U.S. market.
Second, if it is hard to bargain on a Fusion, the smart person will go down the street to the Lincoln-Mercury shop where demand is less for the Fusion's more upscale twin, the Mercury Milan, take the extra bucks he WOULD have spent at the Ford shop, and get more car for the same amount of money.
Or, if he is even smarter, he'll just buy an Accord or a Camry and not take a chance on a new unproven product.
First, the fact that demand is exceeding supply, while nice for dealerships, is not unprecented....even for this car's predecessor, the Taurus. In 1985-65, when the Taurus was introduced, it was also a runaway hit.....the Taurus, Camry, and Accord see-sawed back and forth for years in a 3-way race for top-selling passenger car in the U.S. market.
Second, if it is hard to bargain on a Fusion, the smart person will go down the street to the Lincoln-Mercury shop where demand is less for the Fusion's more upscale twin, the Mercury Milan, take the extra bucks he WOULD have spent at the Ford shop, and get more car for the same amount of money.
Or, if he is even smarter, he'll just buy an Accord or a Camry and not take a chance on a new unproven product.
Now being generous, let's say demand is twice as high as current supply, that means the Fusion would be selling at 10,000 a month. 10,000 a month seems pretty good seeing as the Fusion is a new model. But I can't say if it's a big success.
It seems like a success because Ford's supply is quite limited and their predictions were also quite low. When your expectations are so low, it's easy to "succeed".
To compare, the new Sonata sold almost 15,000 units in November. Compared to November last year, sales almost TRIPLED. I would call the Sonata a big success.
It will be interesting to see what the new Camry does to the competition and their sales.
12-12-05, 05:14 PM
#9
Originally Posted by TRDFantasy
I think the Fusion being a "big success" is a bit misleading. Why, well take a look at the sales numbers. They sold about 5,000 or so Fusions in November. Lexus sold almost as much IS models as that.
Now being generous, let's say demand is twice as high as current supply, that means the Fusion would be selling at 10,000 a month. 10,000 a month seems pretty good seeing as the Fusion is a new model. But I can't say if it's a big success.
It seems like a success because Ford's supply is quite limited and their predictions were also quite low. When your expectations are so low, it's easy to "succeed".
To compare, the new Sonata sold almost 15,000 units in November. Compared to November last year, sales almost TRIPLED. I would call the Sonata a big success.
It will be interesting to see what the new Camry does to the competition and their sales.
Now being generous, let's say demand is twice as high as current supply, that means the Fusion would be selling at 10,000 a month. 10,000 a month seems pretty good seeing as the Fusion is a new model. But I can't say if it's a big success.
It seems like a success because Ford's supply is quite limited and their predictions were also quite low. When your expectations are so low, it's easy to "succeed".
To compare, the new Sonata sold almost 15,000 units in November. Compared to November last year, sales almost TRIPLED. I would call the Sonata a big success.
It will be interesting to see what the new Camry does to the competition and their sales.
12-12-05, 05:29 PM
#10
Lexus Fanatic
Guys.....before we pass final judgement on the Fusion's sales here, let's wait and see how many, like the Taurus, are fleet sales to rental-car firms and government agencies. They generally don't buy on passion or on what we would consider as car "enthusiasts".......they buy, in bulk, simply from whoever gives them the highest number of cars for the lowest price.....and quite often it shows.
12-12-05, 05:48 PM
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Originally Posted by mmarshall
Guys.....before we pass final judgement on the Fusion's sales here, let's wait and see how many, like the Taurus, are fleet sales to rental-car firms and government agencies. They generally don't buy on passion or on what we would consider as car "enthusiasts".......they buy, in bulk, simply from whoever gives them the highest number of cars for the lowest price.....and quite often it shows.
If demand really is high for the Fusion, the worst that Ford can do is to not fix it's supply problems.
12-12-05, 06:20 PM
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ironically enough...my next door neighbor had her RX330 in for body work and what did she bring home from the rental car? a Mercury Milan...same car essentially...i just dont see good resale etc when they're already selling these things in bulk to car rental places.
12-13-05, 08:52 AM
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Originally Posted by foofighter
ironically enough...my next door neighbor had her RX330 in for body work and what did she bring home from the rental car? a Mercury Milan...same car essentially...i just dont see good resale etc when they're already selling these things in bulk to car rental places.
12-13-05, 04:38 PM
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I just did some checking, and apparently the Hermosillo, Mexico plant that builds the Fusion has a 300,000 annual capacity. I guess Ford's goal is to sell that many Fusions, although I really doubt they'll be able to reach such high numbers.
12-29-05, 12:05 AM
#15
I have one of the first. Blue on grey cloth, V6 with 6 speed tranny and upgraded MP3 stereo system. This is my company car. I must say that though I would not go out and spend $25k for a Ford product based on how they treated me in the past, this is a nice car.
Handles very well for a FWD car. So far well built. The body panels are about as even as you are going to get in a car in this class short of a Toyota product. A heck of lot better than the Taurus it replaced. Acceleration is decent. Enough to take my neighbors Hemi Ram Cab truck from the line.
6 speed auto trans is smooth though takes damn near forever to downshift. Scary at times. Though with 6 gears the car is always in it's power band when working.
The stereo is good and the 6 disc changer allows around 900 MP3's in the car. Gas mileage is good as I drive 200-400 miles a DAY!
The car does have a throttle lag-well more like no throttle from the line at times which I need to have fixed at the Ford dealer. Gas pressed=nothng.
I must say that I am impressed with this car overall though like I said, Ford lost me years ago with their, "it's always the customer's fault" attitude after the sale.
To sum it up now that I have over 8k miles on it, if Honda/Toyota/Mazda,Mitsu,or anyone other than Ford sold this car and I was in the market for one, this would surely be on the top of my list. It is too bad Ford dislikes their customers after they sale.
Lee
Handles very well for a FWD car. So far well built. The body panels are about as even as you are going to get in a car in this class short of a Toyota product. A heck of lot better than the Taurus it replaced. Acceleration is decent. Enough to take my neighbors Hemi Ram Cab truck from the line.
6 speed auto trans is smooth though takes damn near forever to downshift. Scary at times. Though with 6 gears the car is always in it's power band when working.
The stereo is good and the 6 disc changer allows around 900 MP3's in the car.
Gas mileage is good as I drive 200-400 miles a DAY! The car does have a throttle lag-well more like no throttle from the line at times which I need to have fixed at the Ford dealer. Gas pressed=nothng.
I must say that I am impressed with this car overall though like I said, Ford lost me years ago with their, "it's always the customer's fault" attitude after the sale.
To sum it up now that I have over 8k miles on it, if Honda/Toyota/Mazda,Mitsu,or anyone other than Ford sold this car and I was in the market for one, this would surely be on the top of my list. It is too bad Ford dislikes their customers after they sale.
Lee
Last edited by Pearlpower; 12-29-05 at 12:16 AM.