Ford Territory News

Stand-by for a short-term price war as car dealers panic sell to clear orders cancelled due to the Rudd Government’s controversial changes to Fringe Benefits Tax rules.“Thousands of cars here or on their way here have had their orders cancelled or postponed because of the sudden changes to FBT," said Richard Dudley, the CEO of the Australian Automobile Dealers Association.“There will be an initial glut of new cars but what happens depends on the outcome of the election. The government is not prepared to move on its FBT decision whereas the opposition says they will abolish the changes."As Ford Australia confirmed it is considering cutting production of the Falcon sedan and Territory SUV, its arch rival Holden issued an urgent bulletin to dealers offering new discounts across most of its model range.“Due to the uncertainty created by the recent announcement on FBT … Holden is offering an additional bonus over and above the current retail incentives”, the confidential bulletin obtained by News Corp said.All new Holdens except the Commodore have an extra $1000 slashed from their prices while the Colorado 4WD has an extra $2000 discount. It means the cheapest car in the Holden range, the Barina Spark, can be bought for $12,990 drive-away.Toyota is understood to be preparing to clear up to 1000 Camrys over the next two months because it is unable to cut production at short notice. The last time Toyota had to quit Camrys, prices dipped to $27,990 drive-away, about $5000 off RRP.Ford, which will end production in Australia in 2016, has foreshadowed further cutbacks. “We can confirm we are looking at what mean for our August production,” said Ford spokeswoman Sinead Phipps.Ford Australia has also put an immediate halt on its employee company-car program. “We’re not calling cars back, but we’re not issuing any new ones at this stage.”Manufacturers have stopped most company-car deliveries to their own staff because the new rules will increase their FBT bills by more than $50 million -- an estimated $20 million each for Toyota and Holden and about $15 million for Ford which has a smaller fleet.The car industry is yet to accurately measure the impact of the FBT changes on new-car sales because the data is compiled on the last day of the month.“It is too early to determine the impact of the FBT on sales after just 10 days, but we will likely see a slowdown in the next two months,” said Tony Weber, the chief executive of the Federal Chamber Automotive Industries. “Long term, if the FBT changes are not reversed, we expect to see a reduction in new-car sales of at least 10 per cent.”Industry estimates say a 10 per cent drop in new-car sales would wipe $1.3 billion in GST revenue a year. When the Rudd Government announced the changes to company car tax rules it forecast a contribution of $1.8 billion towards the axing of the carbon tax.State governments would also miss out on an estimated $100 million in stamp duty revenue from new-car sales and about $50 million in registration fees each year.Luxury car buyers will also be able to grab a bargain. BMW took out advertisements in daily press during the week advising customers against novated leasing because under the new circumstances “a novated lease may no longer be the most suitable way” to buy a new car.Mercedes-Benz is understood to have a surplus of about 400 of its most affordable sedan, the C-Class, which is Australia’s second-biggest selling medium-sized car after the Toyota Camry.This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling 

     

The doubts have come after its regional boss refused to commit to manufacturing beyond 2016 and discounted the role of its Melbourne design operation in the brand's centrepiece at the Shanghai motor show.Work on the show car, a four-door larger than the Focus sedan that revives the famous Escort badge, was led by the 1100-strong design and development team in Melbourne, Ford's new Asia-Pacific design director, Joel Piaskowski, said last week.However, senior Ford executives including former Australian chief Marin Burela, now based in China, shrugged off the role of its Victorian studios at the show and said the Escort concept was a “global car”.Asia-Pacific president Dave Schoch said the car was shaped by Chinese customer input and declined to credit Australia. “Our product development process is global,'' he said.“We've got bits and pieces of it done in Europe, in Australia, in Nanjing.” However, Ford lacks a Chinese design centre and Ford Australia sent a delegation to Shanghai that claimed the design as their own.Mr Schoch also played down the significance of reviving the Escort badge and Ford executives spoken to by The Australian were unclear whether the car would have a life outside China if it enters production. “Think of it as a concept vehicle,” Mr Schoch said.“The Escort is well respected and we thought it would resonate with Chinese customers.'' Ford has been slow to exploit the opportunities in China compared with General Motors or Volkswagen. However, in terms of a single car, the Ford Focus was last year's bestseller in China, helping it reach No 1 on the global sales chart.The concept car based on the Focus targets China's fondness for rear-seat amenities and preference for sedans over hatchbacks. Ford expects the Chinese vehicle market to reach 32 million by the end of the decade and plans huge expansion in the region with five new plants opening in the next few years.But Mr Schoch refused to say whether Ford's Broadmeadows plant could continue beyond the life cycle of its Australian-made Falcon and Territory, which is due to end in three years. “We've made commitments and we're sticking to them,'' Mr Schoch said. “We have nothing to announce beyond 2016 and are still evaluating.” 

One hundred Territorys leave Melbourne tonight to open a new sales pipeline in Thailand. The SUVs have been snapped up less than six months since Ford Australia mounted a display at the Bangkok motor show in search of upscale owners in countries where the Territory is regarded a luxury product.  It's the first significant export deal for Ford in more than six years and welcome news for a company that's been hit by sliding sales, job cuts and a government bailout since the start of the year.  The export deal has only come now the Territory is fitted with the overdue diesel engine that is also re-energising sales in Australia. The export cars are all fully-equipped with the Titanium luxury pack.  “We expect the Territory Titanium model to do well in Thailand,'' Ford Australia president Bob Graziano said. But there is no word yet on any follow-up orders to make shipments to Bangkok a regular event.  Ford's export shipment comes as Holden finalises a new deal that will see the Commodore SS become a high-performance Chevrolet in the USA, as well as a NASCAR racing flagship, in 2013. It is also exporting a police version of the long-wheelbase Caprice to the USA, although sales have been relatively slow.

New car buyers have turned to Sport Utility Vehicles in record numbers, according to the official sales figures released yesterday by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.So far this year the small SUV brigade – including such popular vehicles as the Nissan Dualis, Mitsubishi ASX, Volkswagen's Tiguan and Hyundai ix35 – has grown at an unprecedented rate of 31 per cent. Australians bought 23,845 SUVs of all types last month.Small SUV sales have not come at the expense of the larger models - the medium, large and upper large SUVs all continue to record twenty-plus per cent growth.SUVs have sold 177,100 units this year – or just 20,000 vehicles short of the SUV tally for 2007, which was the record year for vehicle sales. The segment is on track to top 305,000 sales.The FCAI also says SUVs are being bought by both private and business customers. Diesel engines are the powerplant of choice.The sales data shows a 59.9 per cent growth in private diesel SUVs and a 36.3 per cent in non-private sales.One brand that has strong SUV sales to thank is Toyota - Australia's executive director sales and marketing Matthew Callachor said strong performances from Toyota's SUVs helped lift Toyota's sales tally by 26.2 per cent this year."Toyota SUVs sales rose by a massive 58 per cent July-on-July, led by Prado which more than doubled its year-ago result,'' he says.     

Ford has issued a recall on the Ford Territory for a defective impact sensor. The recall on the Ford SZ Territory is to fix a problem with the vehicle's left-hand C-pillar side impact sensor.The recall notice says there is a possibility that a sensor that forms part of the vehicle's supplemental restraint system may not have been secured.This could mean that in the event of a side collision, the side curtain airbag may not operate correctly, possibly resulting in serious injury to the occupant.Ford says only a small number of the vehicles are affected. The problem occurred in 134 Territorys built between 29 March  - 26 April 2012.

The new hirings are the first good news on the staffing front following Ford's $103 million cash injection in January to continue development of the local Falcon and Territory.The Territory also gets a major boost next week when it stars at the Bangkok Motor Show to gauge the potential for sales across the Asian region.The new engineers at Ford will not be permanent staff but, like many motor industry employees today, contractors who are hired for the duration of a specific project."We are in the process of recruiting for approximately 25 new engineers in our digital Innovation  - that's CAD, CAE etc - area," Ford spokesperson, Sinead Phipps, reveals to Carsguide."The new hires will primarily be contractors, as is largely prevalent in product development due to the cyclical nature of the workloads and industry."The jobs include places for both exterior and interior designers, power train experts and chassis specialists.Although Phipps is not specific about the appointments, an advertisement by Ford Australia stresses the focus at Broadmeadows on work for the Asia-Pacific region and the successful F6 pickup program that produced the latest Ford Range and Mazda BT-50 and will eventually lead to an SUV spinoff."We’re recruiting at the moment to support a number of projects the product development team is working on, including global vehicle development work, as well as our continued development of Falcon and Territory," Phipps says.The display at Bangkok is the first time the Territory has been seriously touted outside Australia and it's being promoted as a 'premium SUV' for Asian customers. It is being displayed as a fully-loaded seven-seater powered by the latest 2.7-litre diesel engine.

In a rare bit of positive news for local carmakers, Ford spokesman Neil McDonald confirmed the company was showing its Falcon-derived SUV at this month's Bangkok Motor Show to test consumer reaction. Ford isn’t expecting big volumes with predictions of around 100 vehicles in the first year but the export program will boost morale at the factory in Broadmeadows, Victoria in the wake of falling Falcon sales and major government subsidies for the three Australian car producers. It is the automotive equivalent of selling coal to Newcastle, given Thailand is a major regional production hub for all carmakers. Ford already sources the Fiesta light car and Ranger pick-up from Thailand and will soon bring in Thai-built Focus models. The official Ford press release says Ford is showing its seven-seat Territory Titanium 2.7-litre V6 turbodiesel model, fitted with a six-speed automatic transmission. It also notes the Bangkok show marks the Territorys launch in the ASEAN - rather than just Thai - market - though McDonald said Thailand was the focus for now. "Its a toe-in-the-water exercise showcasing the top-end vehicle as a premium seven-seater," he said. Thailand imposes a 50 per cent tariff on imported diesel cars and 60 per cent on petrol vehicles. "The tax situation in Thailand means were focusing on a single premium model in the Titanium turbodiesel," McDonald said. New Zealand is the only other export market for the Territory and takes around 1500 of the mid-sized SUVs a year. This is not the first time Ford has tried to gain a toehold for the Territory in Thailand. The company exported 20 vehicles powered by its 4.0-litre six-cylinder petrol engine in 2006. The business case went bust when the Thai negotiators for the Free Trade Agreement added a 60 per cent tax on foreign vehicles powered by engines with a capacity of more than 3.0 litres.

The sales total for the coming year is already forecast to top the one-million mark reached in 2011 after a 5.9 per cent lift in Roy Morgan Research returns. A total of 648,000 people are planning a new-car purchase in the next 12 months, says Morgan in the Car Buying Intention report released today, well up from the short-term average of 612,000 that has driven recent demand. "In relative terms, cars are now very cheap. As long as this continues, and interest rates remain low, we see new cars as being a very popular choice over the next four years at least," says Norman Morris, communications director of Roy Morgan. The company's prediction comes as the Reserve Bank holds steady on interest rates and consumer confidence, as measured by Morgan and the Westpac Melbourne Institute rises. Confidence is now at a solid 117 points, compared to the most recent high of 130 in 2009. Even though the confidence is not reflected in housing starts, Morris says the trend for new car sales is up. Surprisingly, he predicts that Ford - which has been badly hit by falling sales of its locally-made Falcon - will be a big winner together with Volkswagen and Toyota, which has dominated car sales for more than a decade. "Ford's Fiesta and Focus, for example, are seen as fresh products that people want to own," said Morris. "There's also more product coming from Ford. In general, I'd say there's more happening at Ford and that's attracting buyer interest "Volkswagen, similarly, has a range of new models and has recorded strong growth in 2011." The report notes that sales of SUVs is continuing to strengthen at the expense of the medium-sized, large car and sports car segments. "SUVs are seen as flexible and versatile rivals to traditional sedans. Plus, there's so many models for the buyer to choose."

It turned out that while the tyres appeared new they were in fact manufactured several years ago and had been in storage for a number of years before Ross bought them and fitted them to his caravan.It is generally recommended that you have your tyres regularly inspected by a tyre technician, particularly as they age. After five years or so in use, this inspection should be done at least once a year.As a general rule tyres should be replaced once they are 10 years old, that's 10 years from the date they were manufactured not fitted to the car, even if they appear to be in good usable condition and have not worn down to the tread wear indicator.In Ross's case the tyres he bought believing them to be "new" had been in storage for some time and should not have been fitted to his caravan at all.The date a tyre was manufactured is included in the information contained on the tyre sidewall and it's worth checking before you hand over your hard-earned cash for what you believe to be new tyres.