Bill Ford: FoMoCo to hold back on discounts

Those who were fearing a price war in the American automotive industry can relax a bit. Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman Bill Ford said Thursday that his company will be holding the line on price discounts, though some other company’s, such as GM and Toyota, have been more than aggressive.

“One of the things that comes with having a better portfolio is the ability to hold back on discounts,” Ford said in an interview at the Wall Street Journal ECO:nomics conference in Santa Barbara. “We’ve planned our production very conservatively so we’re not caught in the game of cranking out too many vehicles and then figuring out how we have to push them out the door.”

While acknowledging GMs 46% sales gain in February against Ford’s 14% gain, Ford mentioned that he expected to see consumers shift toward smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles given the way gas prices have been lately, and is confidant that his company is in a better position to serve that market with its current portfolio of vehicles.

Ford has employed an approach of offering smaller, traditionally compact vehicles, with premium features and an abundance of technology. The Ford family of cars has a number of smaller cars that contain more technology than its larger ones, said Ford, a trend that we should expect to continue to see, as this is one of the main competitive advantages that Ford holds with regard to the segment.

– By: Stephen Calogera

Source: Automotive News