Ford plans to sell cars in China below Fiesta price
File photo of a model posing beside a Ford Fiesta during a media presentation of the 33rd Bangkok International Motor Show in Bangkok on March 27, 2012. — Reuters picBEIJING, April 23 — Ford Motor Co plans to introduce vehicles in China that will be priced below its current low-price Fiesta model, the company’s chief of Asia operations said today.
“We do believe that the Ford brand has even more potential to offer value products for these markets like the tier-3, 4, 5 cities, so we have some plans in place to do that,” Joe Hinrichs, Ford Asia chief, told reporters at the Beijing auto show.
“We believe the Ford brand has the capability to go a price point lower than Fiesta,” he said. He didn’t provide specific details.
Ford makes the Fiesta, Focus, Mondeo and other vehicles in China in a three-way tie-up with Chongqing Automobile Co Ltd and Japan’s Mazda Motor Corp..
Hinrichs’ reply came in response to a question about whether Ford would make a joint venture brand with Changan.
The Fiesta model in China sells in a range equivalent to US$12,300 (RM36,900) to US$17,500.
The same lower pricing could be applied to other emerging markets in Asia-Pacific, Africa and elsewhere by taking advantage of single model platforms for global sale, he said. — Reuters
