Falcon EcoBoost sales

[eb2fairmont]

+1 on the falcon for 30 campaign.
+1 on the whirpool comment mentioned above

Why look at a falcon for 40K when a 3 will do it for 25K. So I reckon go for it. The cars good, it will sell it itself if you can give small car running costs and a ******** of sheetmetal.

At the 30K price point the lack of tech in a falcon becomes less of an issue compared to the market leaders.

Someone call Sinead Phipps and get the pencils sharpened with a good ad showing flacon through the last few decades, and then the new one with a big *** sticker on the windscreen showing the fuel economy of the ecoboost.

[olfella]

More on the ecoboost over at http://www.fordforums.com.au/forumdisplay.php?f=350

[bobwm]

About a month ago, my inlaws were getting to the point where they wanted to replace their 9 year old BA Mk2 (bought new). They were busy looking at hatchbacks like the Focus and Hyundais I don't remember the name of, because they felt like they needed something with better fuel economy but weren't really inspired by any of them, mostly because they didn't like the way any of them looked.

I told them about the ecoboost in Falcon and the improved fuel economy - plus it turned out the local dealer where they bought their BA had a nice 2012 XT in Havana in stock (much like the press car from earlier in the thread). I forwarded the father in law various online reviews and suggested we just go and have a drive and see how it felt, perhaps with a view to looking around for a G6 or G6E ecoboost. We went down there and after seeing it and driving it, I think the father in law was in love. Put down a deposit and had the car a few days later.

To be honest, I think they've always liked the look of our Australian sedans and were almost looking at smaller cars because they felt obliged to. There's like a societal pressure to downsize even if you don't want or need to. I think the concept of ecoboost gave them permission to get a car they really wanted.

I personally don't think the XT looks pov pack anymore with the alloys and reverse sensors with graphical display (even though it only displays on the mono screen inside). I think it's quite a good looking car with a good ride height and possibly even the better for not having the spoilers and badges everywhere like on an XR6. I like the fact that the only badges on the car are Falcon and ecoboost.

I really enjoy driving it too and with the throttle mapping and the gear ratios, around town even with 4 adults the responsiveness means I sometimes wonder if I need my GS... If I was looking at a non 'performance' model I'd likely be looking at an ecoboost XT over anything else.

[Elks]

I Think FoMoCo need to play on the Falcon Ecoboosts massive advantage, the ability to provide a large car, to fit our ever widening population, without the penalty of poor fuel economy. Win win.

If you have ever witnessed four, 100+ kg adults, or people that are not 100% agile, trying to get in or out of a medium sized hatch, you will see the benefit of a Falcon in a heartbeat.

And let's face it, it can run the quarter mile in 14.6, that's within 2/10ths of a Phase 3 GTHO, so its no slouch.

[ryeman]

Cheap airfares these days perhaps mean people don't see long road trips as being the priority when choosing a car.
Being over 5 metres long is problematic when considering city traffic and parking. The alternative is the Focus/Kuga in the Ford camp. For those that want to tow, the Ranger fits the bill as a popular SUV.
We need to find ways to supply components at least plus design/testing for what sells rather than continuing to flog what sales figures say is a dead horse sadly.
It's simply a numbers game now.

[Joe5619]

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...257B4E0081C3CE

16 April 2013
By MIKE COSTELLO

FORD Australia president and CEO Bob Graziano has defended the continued low uptake of EcoBoost four-cylinder versions of the Falcon large car, almost a year on from launch.

The Blue Oval released its first four-pot Falcon – powered by a potent 179kW/353Nm 2.0-litre turbocharged direct-injection petrol engine – in April 2012, addressing concerns over the Australian-made sedan’s fuel consumption compared to popular small cars and increasingly frugal compact SUVs.

While the company predicted small volumes at first as it sought to show buyers that the downsized engine would have sufficient poke, it was thought the more frugal offering could eventually win back customers and help arrest the car’s continued sales decline.

In the ensuing period, Falcon sedan sales have continued to fall and deliveries were down 34.8 per cent last month (831 units) compared to March 2012 – before the introduction of EcoBoost.

Ford is not alone here, with the large-car segment as a whole down 32.9 per cent in March as Holden also struggles with the Commodore.

While official VFACTS industry figures do not break down the proportion of Falcon sales by powertrain, combined sales of the EcoBoost petrol and six-cylinder EcoLPI gas versions were believed to account for around 16 per cent.

This means that the vast majority of all Falcon sales continue to use the Geelong-built inline-six engine, leaving only a trickle of imported EcoBoost fours.

As GoAuto reported exclusively last week, General Motors is currently testing a four-cylinder engine on the Commodore’s ‘Zeta’ platform, but has indicated that it is “not in the near future” for Holden’s Australian-built large car, due largely to the slow sales of the four-cylinder Falcon.

GM’s global executive chief engineer for luxury and rear-wheel-drive cars, David Leone, told GoAuto in New York that he had “tracked the data and the four-cylinder Falcon from a sales standpoint is insignificant – it doesn’t look like it helped them”.

“Perception lags reality in this business and it (four-cylinder Falcon) is quite a good car but it doesn’t appear to be getting the customer,” he said.

Left: Ford Australia president and CEO Bob Graziano.

Ford Australia remains confident the tide will turn for EcoBoost, with Mr Graziano this week citing the difficult road the company had already travelled when it replaced a V8 with a six-cylinder EcoBoost engine in its iconic F-Series truck in the US.

“When we launched the EcoBoost Falcon, I think we were pretty clear that we thought it was going to take people a while to overcome their perception of a four-cylinder’s ability to work in a large car,” he said.

“It was not to dissimilar to the challenge we had with EcoBoost in F Series in the US, and the last data that I saw said that over 40 per cent of F-Series sales now are EcoBoost powertrains.

“They went from nothing to 40 per cent, which I think is a significant percentage, but it took years to get there, for that same perception.

“I don’t know if Falcon will get to 40 or 50 per cent, but what we need to do is to keep getting people into that vehicle, and have them understand how good that EcoBoost powertrain is in the Falcon.

“I didn’t really have projection on where I thought it would be at this point, we are looking at it to increase month on month, year on year, that’s what we’ve got to continue to push.

“So we’re not seeing huge uptakes in EcoBoost but as you get more awareness and word of mouth out there, then I think you’ll start getting a bit more momentum behind it.”

On the subject of Falcon sales momentum, Ford has confirmed the long-awaited Falcon ‘freshening’ or facelift will hit the market in the second half of 2014, around the same time as the cosmetically upgraded (and also Australian-made) Territory SUV appears.

The $103 million project – a co-investment between Ford and federal and state governments – will bring improved fuel economy thanks to engine tweaks, a revised six-speed automatic transmission and aerodynamic tweaks, as well as more cabin technology and facelifted styling.

Mr Graziano would not say directly if the upgrade was the booster shot the car needed, but did indicate the Blue Oval would continue to support the vehicle. The company has previously said the facelifted Falcon will last until 2016, but has not commented on local manufacturing beyond then.

“We’re continuing to talk about what we think are the benefits of the vehicles,” he said. “(But) you’ve seen what’s happening in that segment, it’s a tough segment, and it’s been a tough segment for over a decade.”

While Holden last week announced a further 500 Australia job cuts partially due to slow Cruze and Commodore sales, Ford Australia says it has no immediate plans to announce any employee reduction of its own.

Ford Australia shed 440 jobs from local operations last July, although later found work for more than 100 of these staff in product development and at its newly in-house Ford Performance Vehicles operations.

[Bossxr8]

So sales have not improved in 12 months, yet somehow he thinks it will over time? How many years does he want?

If you don't advertise or promote its existance and its advantages then you have no way of increasing sales

Its not rocket science. I'll put every cent I own on sales being as dismal in 12 months time as they are now if Ford don't bother promoting it.

[phillyc]

Originally Posted by kypez

Drive from Brissy to Newcastle via New England 7.2 litres/100
Sydney to Brissy via Pacific highway 7.4 litres/100
Melbourne to Sydney on the hume 7.0 litres/100
Sydney to Canberra and back - 7.9 litre/100 with 5 adults (3 over 110 kilos) and luggage and driving around Canberra.

Mixed driving around town (motorways and traffic) on 98 I'm seeing roughly 9-10 litres/100

On E10, that moves to 10.8 around town.

Worst in peak hour for the entire tank saw numbers hit 12.8 litres/100 on E10. Happened only on 1 tank so not sure if it was just a bad run.

its sitting on 8.5 with a mix of driving from newcastle to sydney and driving around sydney now on this tank.

Very good numbers as far as I'm concerned for a large car I might add that I do have a bit of a lead foot and dont always drive efficiently

Thanks for the numbers. I'm very happy with our FG1 XR6 with ZF. Love it. The economy is pretty good. The numbers you've posted are great.

Originally Posted by The Snout

Thanks mate, appreciate the feedback of some real world experience with the vehicle. I was looking at replacing our second car (12yo Astra) with another small car. But the more I read about Eco Falcon, the more I'm being swayed to it.

Yeah, it would be a great car to own. Power, economy, space, refinement and Aussie made!

[Road_Warrior]

The new Ecoboost ad on telly is good, but then it ends showing the Mondeo - which they can't get stock of anyway! No point advertising something you don't even have, what the hell is wrong with these people? Why not portray a G6E Ecoboost instead?

[ryeman]

EcoBoost supply issues is my bet.

[phillyc]

Originally Posted by Brazen

I have no idea what the sustainable price is but Im sure they sell them cheaper to the rental companies than that.

When you go to whirlpool automotive forums - you get to see a real snapshot of the normal buying public.

The number of people buying car around that 30 grand price point is truly massive, mid spec small car, base model small SUVs, mid sized sedans. 30 grand seems to be the private buyer hub for purchases.

Would just love to see a 'Falcon for 30' campaign even just for a month to see what happens. I think it would be a hit - but yes, who knows how sustainable. On the plus side the Ecoboost engines must be cheaper to import at the moment with the strong AUD.

About the only benefit for the local makers is the lower cost of imported components. The engine and gearbox would be quite a bit cheaper due to the exchange rate.

Originally Posted by Pepscobra

I wish it was that simple to just slash the price of the car to $30K.

No doubt it could be done and Ford would still make money on it.... in the short term.
However, I don't believe its that simple... there are resale values to consider and I'm sure car manufacturers respect that people buy new cars with resale in mind.
To 'dump' a cheaper model on the market drops the value of the existing cars, in turn turning away current owners who have been tarnished.

I could be way off the mark, but I believe this has something to do with it.

IIRC there has only been 1,000 sales. Many of which would be the XT model of which the majority would be fleet sales anyway.

GMHolden is rumoured to be introducing the base VF for $35k which is $5k less than the VE retail price and matching the existing VE sedan runout prices. GMHolden are getting sharp with their Cruze and Commodore prices. Ford need to counter in some way too.

Toyota had HUGE sales months with Camry/Aurion at $28,990/$3x,990 and cheap finance late last year.

A Falcon for $30k with 8L/100km advertising would get people in the showroom door. It is then the responsibility of the dealership to get them test driving and upselling (eg luxury pack or G6) as required.

[Smoke Pursuit]

I can't understand fords marketing department. Never have been able to. In all due respect the only way Ecoboost will flourish is if they guts the price of XT and compete with Toyota on Camry or build an XR version. No one buys6 cylinder G6's so why would they buy Ecoboosts.


Mr Graziano is a spin Dr as far as falcon goes. Try getting an XR6 turbo ute at the moment in Brisbane. Be lucky if there was 5 of them around the place. They went from the extreme of over building stock in 2010 to now not allocating enough, let alone having any core product built on the grass in Melbourne. Sad part is they still give the stuff they can supply away, so why not give it away but have more volume. At least if you have volume your reducing your fixed overhead per vehicle and your helping your books as far as sales perception goes in the market place.

[superfly]

Originally Posted by Nikked

Sales figures...

We dont know what the profit margins are, unit costs, overheads etc...


What we do know is.

-Ford have commited to the Falcon, 2014 update taked it out past 2016.
-Ford have spent money on the plant, allowing models to gain global tech
-Ford have not made any engerneers redundant, this indicates future thinking
-Ford bought prodrives operations.


-Ford have not said the falcon is dead
-Ford have not said the falcon is not viable.

I really admire your patriatism but in reality will there be a Falcon after 2016? My heart says YES! but my head says no.
Unless of course it gets build overseas......

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by superfly

I really admire your patriatism but in reality will there be a Falcon after 2016? My heart says YES! but my head says no.
Unless of course it gets build overseas......

Well, if the 2014 Falcon doesnt turn up until qtr 3 in 2014, they arent going to spend all that money for only 2 years of sales, plus there will most likely be a MkII update after that (as they have done since Adam was a boy)

[phillyc]

Originally Posted by DASH GT

I can't understand fords marketing department. Never have been able to. In all due respect the only way Ecoboost will flourish is if they guts the price of XT and compete with Toyota on Camry or build an XR version. No one buys 6 cylinder G6's so why would they buy Ecoboosts.

Sad part is they still give the stuff they can supply away, so why not give it away but have more volume. At least if you have volume your reducing your fixed overhead per vehicle and your helping your books as far as sales perception goes in the market place.

Yes, I do now think gutsing the price or building an XR version is a must. I think it would really help boost sales even temporarily. This in itself would be great just to lift perceptions and get the media (temporarily) off it's back. If it works well, then do the "Ecoboost Falcon for $30k & 8L/100km? Ford must be crazy!"*tm (along the Jeep style adverts) and have it on rotation if not permanently.

Originally Posted by DASH GT

Mr Graziano is a spin Dr as far as falcon goes. Try getting an XR6 turbo ute at the moment in Brisbane. Be lucky if there was 5 of them around the place. They went from the extreme of over building stock in 2010 to now not allocating enough, let alone having any core product built on the grass in Melbourne.

I know what you mean mate about getting an XR6 turbo Ute. Was pricing the same last Friday here in Newcastle. Not much out there perhaps due to the current advertised offer of $36,490 which is sharp!

[barra240t]

Originally Posted by DASH GT

Mr Graziano is a spin Dr as far as falcon goes. Try getting an XR6 turbo ute at the moment in Brisbane. Be lucky if there was 5 of them around the place. They went from the extreme of over building stock in 2010 to now not allocating enough, let alone having any core product built on the grass in Melbourne. Sad part is they still give the stuff they can supply away, so why not give it away but have more volume. At least if you have volume your reducing your fixed overhead per vehicle and your helping your books as far as sales perception goes in the market place.

The process is different these days but dealers can order how ever many Falcons they want..allocation isn't low.

Would I order more XT/G6 Ecoboost, nope.

Would I order XR Ecoboost, yep.

Ford aren't just going to build vehicles to sit on grass and hope dealers take them, this is the whole reason they stopped doing that. They needed to change how they operated and I am glad they have, may have just saved Ford Australia.

[ryeman]

Originally Posted by barra240t

The process is different these days but dealers can order how ever many Falcons they want..allocation isn't low.

Would I order more XT/G6 Ecoboost, nope.

Would I order XR Ecoboost, yep.

Ford aren't just going to build vehicles to sit on grass and hope dealers take them, this is the whole reason they stopped doing that. They needed to change how they operated and I am glad they have, may have just saved Ford Australia.

Would anyone admit to paying list price or even close in, say, the last 4-5 years?

[Smoke Pursuit]

So why dont dealers order more XR6 Turbo utes? Cars I think they should have sitting around the place are XR6 Turbo utes with leather for example, they are an easy sell, or even luxury pack. I remember in the good old days they would have stuff built in melbourne, if i wanted an XR6 Turbo with luxury pack 9 times out of 10 you could either swap it in or get it out of melbourne. Now you have no chance.

Why is no one stocking G6E Turbos? it seems everyone only stocks XR6 NA sedans and a handfull of utes now.

[Bluehoon]

Originally Posted by DASH GT

So why dont dealers order more XR6 Turbo utes? Cars I think they should have sitting around the place are XR6 Turbo utes with leather for example, they are an easy sell, or even luxury pack. I remember in the good old days they would have stuff built in melbourne, if i wanted an XR6 Turbo with luxury pack 9 times out of 10 you could either swap it in or get it out of melbourne. Now you have no chance.

Why is no one stocking G6E Turbos? it seems everyone only stocks XR6 NA sedans and a handfull of utes now.

Because no one is buying them?????

Seriously. It's supply & demand. no demand, no supply.

If i Was a dealer, would I carry and hold stock that wasn't selling volume?

No.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by DASH GT

So why dont dealers order more XR6 Turbo utes? Cars I think they should have sitting around the place are XR6 Turbo utes with leather for example, they are an easy sell, or even luxury pack. I remember in the good old days they would have stuff built in melbourne, if i wanted an XR6 Turbo with luxury pack 9 times out of 10 you could either swap it in or get it out of melbourne. Now you have no chance.

Why is no one stocking G6E Turbos? it seems everyone only stocks XR6 NA sedans and a handfull of utes now.

This is just my opinion,
Have a talk to some dealers and you'll find that sales of G6ET and XR6T have subsided to almost
built to order status, you're only seeing mostly XR6 is because that's all anyone really wants to buy
nd ll that dealers are prepared to order on their sales plans but that would vary from region to region .

Really, the Falcon is subsisting on mostly XR6 sales and a handful of luxury/FPV sales. A good case could
be made for pruning back Falcon models for 2014, every variation cost money to develop and approve.

Low Ecoboost sales are the least of FoA current issues, Holden dropping the base price of VF
by around $5,000 is going to make sales increases above 1,000 sales a month very difficult.

I don't mean to scare anyone but as good as the 2014 Falcon may be, it may not be good
enough or soon enough to change the negative perception of Falcon in the market place...

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by jpd80

This is just my opinion,
Have a talk to some dealers and you'll find that sales of G6ET and XR6T have subsided to almost
built to order status, you're only seeing mostly XR6 is because that's all anyone really wants to buy
nd ll that dealers are prepared to order on their sales plans but that would vary from region to region .

I think they must have realised they don't have enough turbos, because I spend everyday down in the turbo build area because the numbers have been quite high over the past month or 2. About 15 or so a day which is well up on where it was a while ago.

[Jason[98.EL]]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

I think they must have realised they don't have enough turbos, because I spend everyday down in the turbo build area because the numbers have been quite high over the past month or 2. About 15 or so a day which is well up on where it was a while ago.

Is that a small indication that they are moving a few or is it for stock soif they need them they are there to put into a req build

Jason

[naddis01]

A manual XR6 turbo is very hard to find at the moment. There are around 20 in dealer stock. Just to add to that, the dealers I have been talking to have also mentioned a run on XR6 turbos in the past month or so.

[Elks]

Originally Posted by Bluehoon

Because no one is buying them?????

Seriously. It's supply & demand. no demand, no supply.

If i Was a dealer, would I carry and hold stock that wasn't selling volume?

No.

********. Dealers are lazy, there business and plans are about cost reduction or cost control for profitability.

Ordering in harder to sell premium model would require that they hire knowledgeable and talented staff and that FoMoCo hired field people who could spot the difference.

Ford moved from a manufacturing 'push' then sell system, to a dealer driven 'pull' order then build system. And made the critical error of not having the mechanisms in place to ensure the dealer were still accepting some risk and being entrepreneurial to sell there number one product. Instead most dealers take the safe option and under order go for safe options and colours.

Think I'm wrong. Try and test drive an Ecoboost or a manual xr6 most dealers won't have them.

If I were in charge of wholesale sales, I'd go out with two bits of paper. One and fair dinkum forward order plan, the second there resignation as a dealer. Yes this will cause turmoil, but the reality is, and Toyota knows if you put cars in the field the dealers will shift them.

[phillyc]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

I think they must have realised they don't have enough turbos, because I spend everyday down in the turbo build area because the numbers have been quite high over the past month or 2. About 15 or so a day which is well up on where it was a while ago.

That's excellent news. Quite a large portion of the current build then If the factory is making 148/day and the split is about half Territory and half Falcon sedan and ute, then that means nearly 1 in 5 are turbo!

I think Ford would be happy with 300 turbo sales per month and the higher transaction price / profit generated by them.

NB There was stuff all turbo's (in either sedan or ute available in the computer system) when I went looking for a Falcon ute last Friday.

[XR Martin]

Is the increase in turbo sales due to the Family/Friends discount rate this month?

[naddis01]

Not from the dealers I have talked to. I am the first to enquire about the Ford friends program through them but they have said they have had a run on XR6 turbos. Probably because they are on special anyway.

[barra240t]

Originally Posted by Elks

********. Dealers are lazy, there business and plans are about cost reduction or cost control for profitability.

Ordering in harder to sell premium model would require that they hire knowledgeable and talented staff and that FoMoCo hired field people who could spot the difference.

Ford moved from a manufacturing 'push' then sell system, to a dealer driven 'pull' order then build system. And made the critical error of not having the mechanisms in place to ensure the dealer were still accepting some risk and being entrepreneurial to sell there number one product. Instead most dealers take the safe option and under order go for safe options and colours.

Think I'm wrong. Try and test drive an Ecoboost or a manual xr6 most dealers won't have them.

If I were in charge of wholesale sales, I'd go out with two bits of paper. One and fair dinkum forward order plan, the second there resignation as a dealer. Yes this will cause turmoil, but the reality is, and Toyota knows if you put cars in the field the dealers will shift them.

I can see what you are saying but things have changed. We are moving into the "One Ford" structure to keep Ford running forever.

[barra240t]

Originally Posted by DASH GT

So why dont dealers order more XR6 Turbo utes? Cars I think they should have sitting around the place are XR6 Turbo utes with leather for example, they are an easy sell, or even luxury pack. I remember in the good old days they would have stuff built in melbourne, if i wanted an XR6 Turbo with luxury pack 9 times out of 10 you could either swap it in or get it out of melbourne. Now you have no chance.

Why is no one stocking G6E Turbos? it seems everyone only stocks XR6 NA sedans and a handfull of utes now.

I've got an XR6 turbo ute with luxury pack in stock. Waiting for a good home.