It has been the top-selling carmaker in the UK for more than 30 years, peaking in the mid ’80s with a market share of 30%. But Ford is under attack from above and below – value brands like Kia have improved quality and picked up business, while premium makes like BMW have moved into Ford’s mainstream heartland.


Ford’s market share is now 17% and the gap between it and second-placed Vauxhall has narrowed to 4% (although last year it was less than 2%).


But Fleet News’s reigning manufacturer of the year has set out its stall as a designer of cutting-edge cars, packed with technology, excellent to drive and with a premium feel. The Mondeo and new Fiesta are widely acknowledged as the leaders in their segments. In fleet, Ford has the top two sellers (Focus and Fiesta) and the sixth best-seller (Mondeo).


The company has superbly managed the run-out between old and new models, enabling it to reduce discounts, improve residual values and move customers into higher trim levels. Titanium and Ghia are becoming the derivatives of choice.
Kevin Griffin, Ford director – fleet operations, says the strategy is to be a provider of great value positioned at the centre of the market.


“We participate in each segment of the market and populate every business sector – retail, fleet, rental, bodyshop, corporate and contract hire – but the volumes are measured closely,” Griffin says. “Each of these sectors has different needs – we manage each customer as best we can and build a model that supports their business.”


Ford’s data enables it to analyse in detail every sub-sector of fleet. It has a volume plan for each which is measured daily. This gives it an in-depth understanding of market trends, and it can act quickly.


“This intelligence gives us understanding on our real performance level,” says Griffin.


Year-to-date for cars, Ford is just above 20% market share in fleet, although volumes are down 17.6%. Its target for the year is a share of 17-18%. In vans, it is at 29.2% YTD.


Vehicle inventory has been cut back as Ford took action to do “less speculative business” – in other words, registering cars where there is no end customer. These cars often end up sold as nearly new or via car supermarkets and can damage residuals.
“We have been driving down inventory by having realistic targets and we plan products 18 months ahead,” says Griffin. “We have reduced cost and increased flexibility in manufacturing and this has reduced capacity.


“We have also improved flexibility in our plants, allowing customers to order cars closer to the production date – it means we can react quickly when the market changes.”


Through the wholly-owned Ford Direct outlets, which handle around 44,000 used cars a year, Griffin has a good understanding of the second- hand market. He confirms the view that residuals have returned to pre-slump levels and predicts they will stay solid for the rest of the year.


He has seen no evidence that fleets are moving away from extending their replacement cycles, while others have gone into the rental market rather than take on new contract hire terms due to the economic uncertainty.


Griffin says there is a trend for companies to look at reducing the number of badges on the fleet, which is accepted by employees as long as they have access to vehicles which are suitably equipped and fit for purpose.


He is also seeing more fleets take CO2 and fuel efficiency into consideration – a shift in policy that is being driven from the boardroom. But that doesn’t mean a continued drift from petrol to diesel; in fact, Griffin believes petrol could become dominant again.


“Petrol has lower displacement with technology to drive power output up in a lighter package, for example 1.4-litre engines with 160bhp,” he says.

Forthcoming models

New Ranger brought forward to September.


Mondeo end of year. Will have new powertrains offering better economy.


All-wheel drive Transit coming to market now. Ford will also introduce a 200PS high performance engine for blue light fleets.
New C-Max (pictured) end 2010/early 2011: being considered as a five and seven-seat car. It will look similar to the concept shown at Geneva motor show this year.


New Focus due in 2011.