April VFacts.. Falcon !!!!!!

[prydey]

Originally Posted by Joe5619

There fact we are now saying 1008 "isn't that bad" is a very very very sad day for Falcon!!

if you think falcon will get back to what it was even 5 years ago you are deluded. The large car segment is much smaller now.

[Smoke Pursuit]

Originally Posted by prydey

if you think falcon will get back to what it was even 5 years ago you are deluded. The large car segment is much smaller now.

It needs to be more then what it currently is to survive.

I have never been able to work out how Ford and Holden can build specific cars for such low build numbers and expect them to be globally competitive.

[HUNTER8]

My thoughts.....
The large car market has been in decline for a while. The growth segments are the small car and SUV market.
Ford have 2 small cars in the Fiesta and Focus the INDIVIDUALLY outsold the Mazda 3 worldwide last year to the tune of 4 to 1. Here Mazda 3 outsells them 2/3 to 1.
Ford has delays with the Territory and didn't have a small or medium SUV for the market. The Kuga is now here and the Ecosport is coming. So are the ST versions of Focus and Fiesta.
Focus (and Fiesta??) have both suffered supply issues.
So is Ford saying we'll still produce the Falcon for now as long as we're not losing money on Falcon/Territory production. At least we stay an "Australian Company" and we can do a lot of R & D here.
Concentrate our efforts on Focus/Fiesta/Kuga/Ecosport because they are the growth areas and where we'll get biggest bang for our buck in advertising money (ie watch the Focus ads on "The Voice").
Come 2014/2015 we're releasing A rhd drive Mustang. See how that sells against the Falcon and if it sells well produce/assemble an Australian Mustang to replace the Falcon?

[flooded one]

I kind of think the next falcon will share the same platform as the mustang as a four door performance car.

[BP'93]

What I don't get is ever since October '11, Holden Commodore sales just dropped & haven't been the same since. There was no indication or anything of this happening & it just seems plain weird buyers dropped off from October onwards?

[anto]

Originally Posted by prydey

why should it be a big jump? the large car segment is in decline. can't expect sales to spike back to what they were yesteryear. 1000-1500 will be the norm with the odd spike up and down.



personally i think that is just your opinion. it may even be an educated one but it is a guess nonetheless. ford have confirmed local production until 2016 with a 2014 update. they made this commitment with the sales how they are.



this also shows that the so called 'fans' unfairly target the falcon. if those figures are correct for commodore then the whole segment suffered a similar story, not just one model.

I would imagine people like "bossxr8" working at Ford have a greater sense of what is happening internaly,...no ?

Look, I admire your fight but cmon, advertising does work, otherwise there would be no advertising at all right ? I have worked with advertising agency clients before so I do have some knowledge on the subject matter..

what is really staggering to me is with the introduction of these new models you would imagine there would be a massive initial marketing campaign to get the word out, otherwise why did bother investing in all this cool ecoo friendly fuel efficient stuff ( nevermind mkII ) in the first place when nobody is ever going to know about it.

Im not bagging them, Im a Ford man and have never owned anything but Fords (have bought two new current models), but its pretty obvious whats going on here.. a spade is a spade.

[MrZ]

Originally Posted by jpd80

News from USA in April sales of:

Police Interceptor sedan: 547
Police Interceptor utility: 667

Caprice: 174

Plus 372 Ford Crown Vics.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by BP'93

What I don't get is ever since October '11, Holden Commodore sales just dropped & haven't been the same since. There was no indication or anything of this happening & it just seems plain weird buyers dropped off from October onwards?

It's the same thing that's happened to Falcon........fleet buyers are not looking at large cars.
Ford CEO Bob Graziano was quoted recently about Falcon seeking more retail buyers.
I dunno anymore, the sales rates of Falcon/ Territory/Ute is about half of that 209/day figure,
even the most ardent supporters have to admit, this is not good ahead of a rumored
down balance and staff reduction next month.....

So even though Holden has come out bravely and committed to VF from 2013 through to 2017/18,
that may well be painting Holden into a corner but I recognise that they still have a strong fan base
who continue to buy 11,000 to 12,000 V8s a year which completely transforms the equation compared to Falcon..
Interesting to see how Ford plays this one out, Falcon sales are low, we all know that and not increasing like
even the Ford brass hopes, I have this terrible feeling that Ford won't stay in indecision mode for much longer..

[Joe5619]

Originally Posted by prydey

if you think falcon will get back to what it was even 5 years ago you are deluded. The large car segment is much smaller now.

Definitely not what they were 10 years ago, but 5 years ago should be achievable. What where they 5 years ago?? I think 2500-3000 per month should be the go. Camary gets close to that each month, so I think Ford shoud be aiming to Falcon back to this??

[1TUFFUTE]

Originally Posted by blk6t

Exactly, having Ecoboost there on a car does not conform to a marketing campaign in my opinion. To the average punter, Ecoboost could be related to anything. Also, non car enthisuasts don't watch V8 supercars.

Out of curisority I just asked some people here at work if they have ever heard of Ecoboost, these were the replies:
Person 1 (female 25yo): "Oh does that have something to do with boost juice??"
Person 2 (male 30yo): "Is that the thing that Subaru and Toyota are producing??"
Person 3 (male 28yo Holden Fan): "Um, never heard of that car, sounds Jap, what is it?"

Ford's recent media release was weak, I have only seen a couple of articles on Caradvice etc. When you also read comments on Caradvice, 90% of people bag out the Falcon

ok now im sick of hearing these things as if its only a ford problem...OMG
Go back to work and ask them what engines are in the commadore?...what body styles does the cruize come in?....whats the diff between the gas system in the commadore and the falcon and while your at it why the commadore gas system is better?

I see PLENTY of ford advertising thru my day....internet...paper...tv(admitedly old adds)...billboards
I only see runnout adds for holden
I have NEVER seen an add for the toyota corolla
I have NEVER seen an add for the mazda 3

What id love to see is ford advertiseing more taking advantage of their rich and proud history...no matter what it is...build the image more.

[Gspec ZL]

on the advertising front there is a fairly recent add for the corolla talking about reliabilty. Fords adds seem to all be about either mondeo or fiesta and focus. Maybe some territory stuff but really they dont try with the falcon.

Holden had adds for the commodore with annoying guitar int the back ground it drove me insane. probably the same music now in the cruise adds i see on tellie alot.

[Brazen]

Originally Posted by prydey

and speaking of jeep, how are their sales going? they run many ads also which apparently automatically equates to many sales!!

Jeep has a very heavy TV campaign. Figures released show that Jeep sales increased 237% in April.

http://www.caradvice.com.au/170996/c...rs-and-losers/

[BroadyFord]

April VFACTS: Imports crunch local models


http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...2579F3000E4653

LOCAL car-makers Holden and Ford were relegated to third and fifth place respectively in the Australian new-vehicle market last month as Japanese motor companies Toyota and Mazda flexed their showroom muscle.

As expected, top full-line importer Mazda ousted Holden from second place in the sales rankings – 7681 sales to 7589 – as Holden’s one-time best-selling large car, the Commodore, suffered one of its worst sales months on record, official VFACTS sales figures released today show.

Holden’s Commodore achieved just 2248 sales, down 26.9 per cent on the corresponding month last year, contributing to a continuing slide in the large car segment, which is now down 23.2 per cent year to date.

The Commodore’s previous worst monthly performance was 2170 sales in January this year, but January is when fleet sales are at their lowest ebb each year.

The one-time king of the road could manage just fifth place in April, again falling behind its locally-made stablemate, the Cruze (2315 sales).

Holden’s position was made worse by an absence of Colorado stock ahead of the local launch of its next-generation Thai-built ute next month.

Holden can at least console itself that Commodore sales looked respectable compared with rival Ford’s Falcon, which stumbled to 1009 sales – down 30.7 per cent on April last year – as the launch of Ford’s new four-cylinder EcoBoost Falcon variant came too late in the month to save the big Ford from one of its worst monthly efforts.

A wave of imports pushed overall April sales up 6.6 per cent to 74,214 vehicles, with most of the drive again coming from SUVs (up 27.8 per cent).

Market leader Toyota came roaring back with large gains in its imported vehicle sales, particularly its HiLux ute that recovered from recent Thai flood-impacted shortages to become the nation’s top-seller in April with a whopping 3565 sales – 560 units ahead of the next best, the Mazda3 (3005 units).

The Toyota surge propelled the Japanese giant to 16,568 sales for the month, up 21.1 per cent on the same month last year, giving it a 20.9 per cent share of the market – more than the next two biggest car companies, Mazda and Holden, combined.

However, its new locally made Camry and Aurion failed to light a fire under its sales performance, up just 1.6 per cent and 0.3 per cent respectively to 1602 and 629 units.

Ford’s local Territory helped to save the day for the Blue Oval brand, with sales of the recently upgraded SUV up almost 80 per cent on April last year to 1076 units – more than the Falcon sedan on which it is based.


Overall Ford sales were down just 2.5 per cent on April 2011, to 6306 units, but that was only good enough for fifth place, behind Toyota, Mazda, Holden and Hyundai.

On a monthly basis, Mazda had its best April, and has now risen from fourth place to second in three months, mainly on the back of its hot-selling new medium SUV, the CX-5, which topped 1400 sales in its second full month of sales.

The CX-5 last month was the best-selling medium SUV on the market, out-pointing the Subaru Forester (989 sales) and Nissan X-Trail (957).

Overall Mazda April sales were up 21 per cent to 7681 units, giving the importer a 9.7 per cent market share.

Year to date, Mazda still trails second-placed Holden, which is now sitting on 10.8 per cent, compared with Mazda’s 10.1 per cent, but continues to close the gap.

South Korean brand Hyundai eased up slightly in April sales, to 7017 vehicles and fourth place in the rankings, ahead of Ford’s 6306 sales, which is now running fifth in year to date, with a four-month market share of 7.8 per cent – down 1.2 percentage points.

The biggest winner among the top 10 motor companies last month was Volkswagen, which ousted Mitsubishi from seventh spot with a 25.3 per cent jump in month sales volume, to 3798 units.

While sales of VW’s top-seller, the Golf, slipped 48 per cent, the leeway was more than made up by a huge 460 per cent leap in Tiguan sales, to 846 units, Amarok 4x4 (up 542 per cent) and Jetta (up 160 per cent).

Mitsubishi was the biggest loser last month, with sales sliding 29 per cent to just 3748 units. All models in the Mitsubishi range showed red ink on the sales sheet.

Kia again clawed its way up the rankings, with sales up 24.4 per cent, to 2505 units.

Despite a continuing absence of stock from its flood-hit Thai plant, Honda managed to creep sales up 1.6 per cent, to 2486 vehicles, with honours evenly shared by the Japanese-supplied Civic (908) and Jazz (972).

In the light car segment, Toyota’s Yaris pipped Mazda’s segment leader, the Mazda2 – 1380 to 1305 – while Mazda returned the favour in Australia’s largest market segment, the small category, with the Mazda3 outselling the Toyota Corolla (3005 v 2573).

Toyota’s new Camry was again dominant in the medium segment, with 1602 units, well ahead of the next best, the Mazda6.

In SUV sales, Toyota’s Prado led the charge with 90 per cent jump in sales, to 1725 units.

Its Kluger stablemate also enjoyed a lift, up 17.6 per cent, to 1047 vehicles in April.

In the rapidly growing small SUV class, Hyundai’s ix35 reigned supreme, with 971 sales, but the big movers were the Tiguan (864) and Subaru’s new baby 4x4, the Impreza-based XV (706).

Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries chief executive Ian Chalmers said diesel SUVs had helped to drive an increase in the segment.

“Yet again, SUVs dominate the Australian vehicle market, with sales increasing for all sizes of SUVs in the private, business and rental sectors,” he said.

“This month however we can also see an interesting emergence of customer preference for diesel powered SUVs.”

Private sales for diesel SUVs increased by 56.0 per cent (or 1530 vehicles) compared to the same month in 2011, and 47.9 per cent (5485) for the same four-month period last year.

Similarly, non-private sales for diesel SUVs increased by 47.5 per cent (1,507) compared with April 2011 and 39.3 percent (5,588) for the same period in 2011. Overall, SUV sales increased by 24.4 per cent compared with the same period last year.

[BroadyFord]

^^ Based on those numbers, Ford shouldn't have bothered opening up after the CMI shut down!

Shocking figures!

[prydey]

Originally Posted by Brazen

Jeep has a very heavy TV campaign. Figures released show that Jeep sales increased 237% in April.

http://www.caradvice.com.au/170996/c...rs-and-losers/

for arguments sake, lets say this is 100% due to their tv campaign. have you seen the ads? what do they actually tell you about jeep? people are on here rubbishing ford becuase they aren't telling people about the engines etc and yet jeep make ads where you have two people talking while playing golf and one says he bought a jeep. no shots of the cars until the end and no info. if ford made ads like that, they would be slaughtered on here.

Originally Posted by Joe5619

Definitely not what they were 10 years ago, but 5 years ago should be achievable. What where they 5 years ago?? I think 2500-3000 per month should be the go. Camary gets close to that each month, so I think Ford shoud be aiming to Falcon back to this??

while that would be good, i think its in dreamland. camry has always been classed as a mid size car so it isn't comparable. how does the aurion sell? the large car market is much much smaller and the other markets have much more choice.

[RASER]

Originally Posted by Spammy

Forget the Falcon (it's all over bar the shouting for the Falcon),?

This is all managements fault, because they are still selling heaps and heaps of Commodores, so large car still have life in them.

[prydey]

Originally Posted by RASER

This is all managements fault, because they are still selling heaps and heaps of Commodores, so large car still have life in them.

define 'heaps and heaps'!

[RASER]

Originally Posted by prydey

define 'heaps and heaps'!

=

# 1 overall selling model for 15 years straight

Top 3 seller month after month, year after year.

Not sure it will ever be #1 seller ever again, but will continue to sell strongly

[Mad_Pom]

Originally Posted by RASER

This is all managements fault, because they are still selling heaps and heaps of Commodores, so large car still have life in them.

Commodore includes a Wagon.
Ford spent the wagon money on Territory

Commodore including wagon = 2248
Falcon + Territory = 2085

Not that different really. Still want to blame Ford management?

[prydey]

Originally Posted by Mad_Pom

Commodore includes a Wagon.
Ford spent the wagon money on Territory

Commodore including wagon = 2248
Falcon + Territory = 2085

Not that different really. Still want to blame Ford management?

if you compare 6cyl sedans, it would be even closer, possibly even in falcons favour.

the other thing is, holden fans are loyal. often they are critisized for this blind loyalty, but when you look at sales threads, its clear why ford aren't selling as much as they could. the fans aren't as loyal or passionate it seems.

when ford sold wagons and v8s (under the ford banner) the 'fans' came up with all sorts of reasons why they weren't good enough for them to buy. now they are not offered, its fords fault.

[RASER]

Originally Posted by Mad_Pom

Commodore includes a Wagon.
Ford spent the wagon money on Territory

Commodore including wagon = 2248
Falcon + Territory = 2085

Not that different really.

Still want to blame Ford management?

Yes, absolutely

Your calculations do not work like that

Both Ford and VFacts have the Territory in the SUV group, its a SUV not classed or counted as a wagon, none the less its doing very well in the SUV class, got its head in front of the Kluger [Why dont BigT [tm.f/0] do a DIEsel version?]

For sure the Falcon is screwed, the real problem is other Ford products are not picking up the lost sales, the overall total brand volume is what really counts, BigT must be laughing its head off, i can see Nissan sneaking past Ford, and maybe one of the others too:

Top 10 Best-selling Brands – 2012 to date

Toyota 63,943

Holden 36,534
Mazda 34,194

Hyundai 28,748
Ford 26,552
Nissan 24,583

Mitsubishi 19,487
Volkswagen 15,781
Subaru 13,437
Kia 9509

Just as well Kia and Hyundai are sold as seperate brands, even though they are the same company = 38,257/pcs

[Spammy]

Falcons are the automotive equilvent of Tooheys New.

Less people are drinking beer and those who do now drink boutique brands.

[Joe5619]

Originally Posted by prydey

if you think falcon will get back to what it was even 5 years ago you are deluded. The large car segment is much smaller now.

Well if it can't, then we dont need a Falcon anymore.. There is no point building a car here that only sells 1,000 as the main car.. Close the bl00dy plant & be done with!! It is simple, aim to increase sales or close up shop.. Ford can't keep going at 1,000 unit per month.. This is where Ford Australia is at weather you like it or not!!

[Joe5619]

Originally Posted by prydey

for arguments sake, lets say this is 100% due to their tv campaign. have you seen the ads? what do they actually tell you about jeep? people are on here rubbishing ford becuase they aren't telling people about the engines etc and yet jeep make ads where you have two people talking while playing golf and one says he bought a jeep. no shots of the cars until the end and no info. if ford made ads like that, they would be slaughtered on here. .

Good lord what more do you want?? Jeep are up 237% & yet you still question there marketing.. Truely

[Nikked]

Originally Posted by Joe5619

Good lord what more do you want?? Jeep are up 237% & yet you still question there marketing.. Truely

No he's not, he is questioning the people on here that complain about ford not doing enough advertising...

[nstg8a]

Originally Posted by Joe5619

Good lord what more do you want?? Jeep are up 237% & yet you still question there marketing.. Truely

didnt jeep do several things at once thoough, like all new gc, slashed their prices, improved equipment levels, etc etc

imo, thats where ford should be aiming...
advertise 'true' rrp's, not the pie in the sky wish figures they currently use, noone pays them anyway.

improve tech levels, using euro or american tech.

and advertise the crap out of them. as much as i dont think advertising is the be all and end all it all helps.

use one ford to foa's advantage.

[Dr Smith]

Originally Posted by Joe5619

Good lord what more do you want?? Jeep are up 237% & yet you still question there marketing.. Truely

You also need to factor in a few other things re Jeep. They released a new vehicle with massive input from Mercedes in R&D that also raised it's quality in very obvious areas like trim, fit & finish etcthat has completely transformed the G. Cherokee. Prices became very competitive with the $Aust vs $US. The initial months had massive supply shortages and now that hump is over their sales have increased showing the massive % increase you listed. Sure they advertise a lot but their current G. Cherokee is so much better then the last model it's not funny. (it's a cheap Mercedes ML really)

[prydey]

Originally Posted by Joe5619

Good lord what more do you want?? Jeep are up 237% & yet you still question there marketing.. Truely

here's a couple of jeep ads. hardly anything about the car.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlKHX...feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSf8v-3MNAc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBF1trsVEUk

so your telling me if ford released these tv commercials (just substitute ford or falcon everywhere where jeep is mentioned) that everyone on here would think they were the work of a genius??? the 3rd one is likely not a tv commercial, given it is a minute long, but is it selling a car or a dog?? the other 2, well, according to the experts on here, its impossible for them to work because they don't tell anyone all the intimate details about the engine and fuel type etc etc.

i take it everyone shops at supacheap and bunnings and the prices really are down at coles. we all use swisse vitamins and shave with gillette shavers....

[Joe5619]

I've said this before & I'll say it gain.. A TV add is not going to sell a car (come on, how dumb do you think people are??), It is there to get people to put the car on their "shopping list". It is then up to the dealers, website, the car feature, price, etc, etc. It is about people going "jeep, I might take a look at their website"... Believe it or not, there are allot of people that don’t know what a Falcon is, truly!!! When I buy my last Falcon in 2010, the number of people who said "who makes a Falcon" when I said I bought a Falcon even shocked me!!

[Joe5619]

Originally Posted by prydey

here's a couple of jeep ads. hardly anything about the car.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlKHX...feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSf8v-3MNAc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBF1trsVEUk

I've just had a look at these (was at work early).. These adds are BRILLENT!! It is using the same kind of style add that the Ecoboost/ frog one that Ford has created.. This is the sort of stuff we need!!