Mustang Pricing

[Kieron]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

...aaaaand that will mean it sells just as successfully as the Falcon and disappear as well. Nice.

If that's how they're going to do things it's good to see Ford hasn't learned about this new-fangled "sell profitable volume and it makes a car popular and successful" thingy that other makes do...

Look at Ford dealerships in the USA...the Mustang isn't carefully put aside on a pedestal in the corner (as FPV's often were and are here), tucked away to have selected buyers ushered past it in reverence...they have row upon row of the things in all standards of trim. They're not that special in the USA, and neither should they be here.

But they will. And that will inevitably doom it to low sales and eventually being dropped from the lineup for low sales as management sits puzzled about what went wrong...

Sure it may go the way of the Falcon or more to the point, XP 2 door Falcons, XA/B/C coupes, old and modern Monaros, 2 door Chryslers/Chargers but the big difference is, Ford Aust didn't have to invest in designing it and aren't manufacturing it so no need to rely on a tiny market to recoupe $$'s. After the initial sales bubble is over, it will be a case of place an order and wait I'd say. Therefore, not hard to keep in the lineup.

If you had noticed in my post, you would have seen I was quite careful in saying Ford Australia. Certainly, mustangs in the US are just throw away cars but that's no different to BMW's/Mercs in Germany yet down here in Aus, they are low volume high profit cars and are 'put on a pedestal', the mustang I'd suggest is already seen as a bit above the average throw away car in Aus already (I've owned two of them and was a member of the Mustang club so know how owners feel).

OR

They could bring heaps of them in, sell them at an even lower cost and give deep discounts to flood the market and the bubble will still likely burst. With more Mustangs on the road, there will be a requirement to hold a larger spare parts inventory and potentially more warranty claims.

Fact is, historically, large 2 door cars in Australia has been a niche market and I think Ford understand that.

[Express]

Larger coupes in the mid-price range are a bit of a niche market here simply because that price falls within the range of what the average family spends and most of them do not want a 2 door vehicle.

Add to that our population and the sales figures for these types of vehicles will always be low.

In saying that there are plenty of lower priced smaller 2 door hatch types on offer that sell well plus a definite small market for higher end prestige coupes.

If Ford is bringing in Mustang as a niche car then I fail to understand why.

Sure you’ll get some sales from performance orientated customers, I’m thinking about buying one but what else does it achieve?

Does the average consumer care about hero cars and does a hero car play a part in determining how the average consumer approaches their next purchase?

Does a hero car get people thru the door and stay and buy something else?

I say the answer is no.

It may have been the case 40 years ago when the market was predominately a 3 horse race but not today.

I say sell the Mustang for what it is, a cheap muscle car and sell it in numbers if the market will support it.

To hold it back and put it on a pedestal as though Aussies have never seen a muscle car before is treating the consumer as fools and I can only think what the yanks would say if you were to tell them we have a you beaut elitist car here and it’s called a Mustang.

[Kieron]

Cheap 2 door cars are likely to be purchased by younger singles for a cheap mode of transport. The closet new vehicle to a Mustang sold here is the Toyota 86 which can be had from the mid 30's drive away and despite being quite successful in Aus and what i'd say is a bargain price, sales are tiny.

I see no need to make the Mustang a bargain basement muscle car down here in Aus, firstly and foremostly the market will not support it and the Mustangs ALREADY on a pedestal, it doesn't matter what it is in other parts of the world.

Ford AU have done their homework and priced it quite competitively for what it is in Australia, a niche 2 door muscle car in a tiny market. If that's treating consumers as fools then so is every other company selling products in Australia and in fact worldwide - all products are priced to the market, simple business 101.

[Kieron]

Cheap 2 door cars are likely to be purchased by younger singles for a cheap mode of transport. The closet new vehicle to a Mustang sold here is the Toyota 86 which can be had from the mid 30's drive away and despite being quite successful in Aus and what i'd say is a bargain price, sales are tiny.

I see no need to make the Mustang a bargain basement muscle car down here in Aus, firstly and foremostly the market will not support it and the Mustangs ALREADY on a pedestal, it doesn't matter what it is in other parts of the world.

Ford AU have done their homework and priced it quite competitively for what it is in Australia, a niche 2 door muscle car in a tiny market. If that's treating consumers as fools then so is every other company selling products in Australia and in fact worldwide - all products are priced to the local market.

[SumoDog68]

UK Mustang review

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/ford/mustang/

[MAGPIE]

Originally Posted by Kieron

The closet new vehicle to a Mustang sold here is the Toyota 86

Closest to the Ecoboost Mustang maybe but not to the Mustang GT, that would be a XK Jag (both are 5.0L V8 RWD 2 Door Coupes/Verts).

[LoudPipes]

Originally Posted by Kieron

I see no need to make the Mustang a bargain basement muscle car down here in Aus, firstly and foremostly the market will not support it and the Mustangs ALREADY on a pedestal, it doesn't matter what it is in other parts of the world.

Ford AU have done their homework and priced it quite competitively for what it is in Australia, a niche 2 door muscle car in a tiny market. If that's treating consumers as fools then so is every other company selling products in Australia and in fact worldwide - all products are priced to the market, simple business 101.

The market place is global, what happens around the world has a huge influence on domestic markets, the Mustang is known as a cheap Yank muscle car for the masses therefore sell it as such.

Try and fool the customer into thinking it’s something special then after the initial fanboy flutter it’ll die from a lack of sales numbers.

You can’t survive on a couple of thousand new release orders.

Niche products are for niche products, niche products aren’t made from jacking up the price, reducing the import quota, putting it on a pedestal and telling the customer its special here even if it isn’t elsewhere.

Well healed customers will spend big to have a real high end vehicle and love that its niche because of its out of touch price but those customers are not going to be knocking down Ford’s doors to get to the Mustang.

If the same happens in other RHD markets and their sales volumes are low than kiss the sale of RHD American coupes here goodbye forever.

GM doesn’t see a business case for them here, nor has Chrysler rushed to the market.

Try and sell it in bulk and hope it has appeal as a cheap reliable alternative as a second car and make your money on volume.

Volume is what will keep RHD viable not niche.

Simple manufacturing business 102.

[SumoDog68]

Originally Posted by MAGPIE

Closest to the Ecoboost Mustang maybe but not to the Mustang GT, that would be a XK Jag (both are 5.0L V8 RWD 2 Door Coupes/Verts).

Closest to Competitor to Mustang in Australia has to be 370z and maybe future Hyundai Genesis Coupe. Jag is much more expensive .

[MAGPIE]

Originally Posted by SumoDog68

Closest to Competitor to Mustang in Australia has to be 370z and maybe future Hyundai Genesis Coupe. Jag is much more expensive .

Price has nothing to do with it, I was just pointing out a Toyota 86 isn't even close to a GT Mustang.

I wasn't talking about them being competitors, I'm well aware how expensive the Jag is.

[Kieron]

Originally Posted by LoudPipes

The market place is global, what happens around the world has a huge influence on domestic markets, the Mustang is known as a cheap Yank muscle car for the masses therefore sell it as such.

Try and fool the customer into thinking it’s something special then after the initial fanboy flutter it’ll die from a lack of sales numbers.

You can’t survive on a couple of thousand new release orders.

Niche products are for niche products, niche products aren’t made from jacking up the price, reducing the import quota, putting it on a pedestal and telling the customer its special here even if it isn’t elsewhere.

Well healed customers will spend big to have a real high end vehicle and love that its niche because of its out of touch price but those customers are not going to be knocking down Ford’s doors to get to the Mustang.

If the same happens in other RHD markets and their sales volumes are low than kiss the sale of RHD American coupes here goodbye forever.

GM doesn’t see a business case for them here, nor has Chrysler rushed to the market.

Try and sell it in bulk and hope it has appeal as a cheap reliable alternative as a second car and make your money on volume.

Volume is what will keep RHD viable not niche.

Simple manufacturing business 102.

This is so full of holes, I don't even no where to start but I will. A Niche product can be anything it wants but typically, it's the exact opposite to what your presuming it is. Simple example, a new HSV Commodore fits a niche market in Australia, i'm sure we can agree on this? It's based on a cheap family hack and everyone knows this yet the asking price is well and truly above its real worth yet it works.

It's very simple, large to door cars in Australia are a niche market, Again I'm sure we can agree on this? Do you sell a product into that niche market at a cheap price when historically, it's been proven that it won't expand or, do you do what was done with HSV's and FPV's in their respective niche and put a higher price tag on it?

As for world markets, no this is Australia, I've already provided examples of cars in other markets that a run of the mill and much cheaper, yet down here in Aus, we pay through the nose for them and they are on a pedestal, ie BMW/Merc.

[LoudPipes]

Originally Posted by Kieron

This is so full of holes, I don't even no where to start but I will. A Niche product can be anything it wants but typically, it's the exact opposite to what your presuming it is. Simple example, a new HSV Commodore fits a niche market in Australia, i'm sure we can agree on this? It's based on a cheap family hack and everyone knows this yet the asking price is well and truly above its real worth yet it works.

It's very simple, large to door cars in Australia are a niche market, Again I'm sure we can agree on this? Do you sell a product into that niche market at a cheap price when historically, it's been proven that it won't expand or, do you do what was done with HSV's and FPV's in their respective niche and put a higher price tag on it?

As for world markets, no this is Australia, I've already provided examples of cars in other markets that a run of the mill and much cheaper, yet down here in Aus, we pay through the nose for them and they are on a pedestal, ie BMW/Merc.

Mercedes, BMW and the like are high volume prestige cars who are now starting to produce some lower end models in the hope of breaking into the mid price market.

Euros like many products sold here are just over priced in the “take advantage of the Aussie's market place”.

Niche market is small volume manufacturing with huge mark ups to turn a profit.

Massed produced is large volume with low competitive mark ups designed to turn a profit based on high sales figures.

Mustang is neither niche nor prestige, it’s massed produced with cheap interiors and should be sold as such.

Ford have priced it as such, if they wish to restricted its import volume and put it on a pedestal as something above its station then they are fooling no one.

Well maybe one person.

Market perception kills or makes a product, why try and fool the market?

As far as HSV and FPV are concerned they tapped into a market by producing a performance build based on a small local mass produced business model.

They themselves have small build numbers with high mark ups and at best they are in the low end prestige performance market and borderline niche.

Mustang is a massed produced muscle car and its worth around $40 to $50k in the Aussie market.

I’ll say it again, if Ford wants to play niche market with the Mustangs sold outside of the USA then the restricted sales volume and lack of worthwhile profit will most likely put an end to the long term viability of the RHD versions.

[Joe5619]

Originally Posted by LoudPipes

The market place is global, what happens around the world has a huge influence on domestic markets, the Mustang is known as a cheap Yank muscle car for the masses therefore sell it as such.

You need to visit Germany & then you tell me would you think of merc!! You can't argue both ways to prove your point!!

[Kieron]

Originally Posted by LoudPipes

Mercedes, BMW and the like are high volume prestige cars who are now starting to produce some lower end models in the hope of breaking into the mid price market.

They are low volume cars perceived as prestige cars in AUSTRALIA but high volume every day cars in their home countries EXACTLY like the Mustang and they are priced as such.

Euros like many products sold here are just over priced in the “take advantage of the Aussie's market place”.

That's the way the whole world is, amongst others a product is priced by how the manufacturer want it to be perceived in a given market, regardless of how cheap it is to make or how cheap it is in another country.

Niche market is small volume manufacturing with huge mark ups to turn a profit.

A niche market is a small targeted market. Australia itself is a niche market on a world scale and the 2 door large car
segment is a niche within a niche in Australia (and the UK for that matter). That does not automatically mean it's a niche market in USA.

Massed produced is large volume with low competitive mark ups designed to turn a profit based on high sales figures.

Mustang is neither niche nor prestige, it’s massed produced with cheap interiors and should be sold as such.

Is the Mustang being sold into a niche market or not in Australia?
Look up the fuller meaning that defines a niche market, you will discover that quality is not a driving factor, rather fitting a products features into what the niche market would want, badge snobbery can also be a factor. Again look at a HSV, it's not a quality/prestige product but it's features are targeted to a niche market and it has a different badge to elevate it above a Commodore.

Ford have priced it as such, if they wish to restricted its import volume and put it on a pedestal as something above its station then they are fooling no one.

Well maybe one person.

LOL. Your the smart one then...Out of interest, what cars have you owned?

Personally, amongst many other cars, i've owned two Mustangs as i've previously mentioned and i've been a member of the Mustang club and had my car at Mustang/All Ford show days and see how the public perceive them.

Market perception kills or makes a product, why try and fool the market?

I've come to the conclusion that your either American or spent a long time living there, hence your opinion

As far as HSV and FPV are concerned they tapped into a market by producing a performance build based on a small local mass produced business model.

They targeted a niche market, a market that wanted reasonable handling, sporty looks and big performing engines. They took well known mass produced (on an Aussie scale), cheaply produced family sedans with cheap interiors and engineered to a price, uprated the springs/dampers/roll bars, added a V8 or T6 engine + uprated the driveline to suit, added a body kit and a GT/Clubsport badge and charged double the asking price of the base model.

A GT/Clubbie is not worth twice the base model yet they sell.

Look at the fashion industry. Some designer knocks out a new dress and ask a couple of K for it. It's a niche market but there is no way that dress is worth a couple of K.

Clearly quality does not define a niche market.

They themselves have small build numbers with high mark ups and at best they are in the low end prestige performance market and borderline niche.

Based on a high volume cheap car and it works.

Mustang is a massed produced muscle car and its worth around $40 to $50k in the Aussie market.

It's a mass produced car in another country and the base models are seen as such in that country. That's it's beauty for Ford Australia, they didn't have to develop it, it comes out of the same sausage factory as the LHD's at a high rate so doesn't have to recoup much if anything, especially as the RHD is also shared with the much larger UK market.

I’ll say it again, if Ford wants to play niche market with the Mustangs sold outside of the USA then the restricted sales volume and lack of worthwhile profit will most likely put an end to the long term viability of the RHD versions.

These are not my words, but the words of the man that recently saved Ford -
"We're not going to chase market share, we're not going to put out vehicles where the demand is not there and then discount and make it even worse."

"People are too obsessed with market share."
-----------------------------------------------

Do you really think this man knows less about the car industry than you?

[2011G6E]

Just went to Ford today here in Rocky to have a chat about the Mustang...it comes in December, he said they've so far sold about fifteen here in Rocky, and they recommended heartily that I put a deposit down now, and I can take delivery of my lovely 'Stang in...

...August next year.

Sorry...I'll go look at that Focus ST sitting outside instead...I can have one of them tomorrow if I want...
Australians are used to being able to walk in and pretty much drive out with the car they want...maybe a short wait for it, but not a year and a half. I'm in a financial position where I can afford a Mustang, I can put a deposit on one now, but they've just lost a sale...it's a bloody common old Mustang, not an exotic rare Euro sports car that has to be painstakingly hand built when you order it...

Originally Posted by Kieron

"We're not going to chase market share, we're not going to put out vehicles where the demand is not there and then discount and make it even worse."

"People are too obsessed with market share."
-----------------------------------------------

Do you really think this man knows less about the car industry than you?

Sorry, but if he claims that market share and volume profitability is "unimportant" then I think we can see why makers like Ford and honestly sitting there puzzled about why their cars aren't selling...

[Kieron]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

Sorry, but if he claims that market share and volume profitability is "unimportant" then I think we can see why makers like Ford and honestly sitting there puzzled about why their cars aren't selling...

The guys name was Alan Mulally, bought in by Bill Ford to save FoMoCo, he did it, not sure you can argue with that unless your a corp exec of a multinational company?

He also said "some of the most profitable car companies in the world were also some of the smallest"
------------------------

This was in stark contrast to the Detroit execs entrenched volume/discounting thinking.

To back him, go and look at Fords return to profitability since he was at the helm...

[2011G6E]

Originally Posted by Kieron

The guys name was Alan Mulally, bought in by Bill Ford to save FoMoCo, he did it, not sure you can argue with that unless your a corp exec of a multinational company?

He also said "some of the most profitable car companies in the world were also some of the smallest"
------------------------

This was in stark contrast to the Detroit execs entrenched volume/discounting thinking.

To back him, go and look at Fords return to profitability since he was at the helm...

"Smallest"...presumably very successful small companies like Ferarri, Lambo, Pagani, etc, making hugely expensive exotica in small numbers that sell every car they can make and have long waiting lists...to the super rich.

Just what Australia needs...

Real "ordinary buyer" car companies do run on volume and good pricing...keeping things exclusive and expensive doesn't help any normal buyer...

[Anchor]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

Just went to Ford today here in Rocky to have a chat about the Mustang...it comes in December, he said they've so far sold about fifteen here in Rocky, and they recommended heartily that I put a deposit down now, and I can take delivery of my lovely 'Stang in...

...August next year.

Sorry...I'll go look at that Focus ST sitting outside instead...I can have one of them tomorrow if I want...
Australians are used to being able to walk in and pretty much drive out with the car they want...maybe a short wait for it, but not a year and a half. I'm in a financial position where I can afford a Mustang, I can put a deposit on one now, but they've just lost a sale...it's a bloody common old Mustang, not an exotic rare Euro sports car that has to be painstakingly hand built when you order it...

I'm almost certain we haven't sold 15 yet. But that ST out front sure is damn nice for mid 40's.

[Express]

Originally Posted by Joe5619

You need to visit Germany & then you tell me would you think of merc!! You can't argue both ways to prove your point!!

I’ve been to Germany a few times and I’ve also done the AMG Affalterbach factory tour and listened and seen how they build and market their high end products.

Mercedes-Benz sells in two markets in their homeland and the surrounds at two price points, prestige and competitive priced high volume.

The Mercedes-Benz export strategy concentrates on the high mark-up prestige market and has the luxury of being a high volume exporter and multi-country manufacturer due to their popularity as a status symbol in most countries whether RHD or LHD.

A part from their popularity as higher end cars in the west the Euros have also been able to achieve high volume sales of their prestige models in Asia.

How many other vehicle manufacturers outside of their own Asian brands have been able to pull that off?

Still Mercedes are now not content to just serve the higher end market in the west, they have started looking towards getting a foot hold in the mid-price market by producing cars for export at lower price points.

The surge in popularity of their entry level models here in Australia alone says they may be on a winner.

They successfully sell cars worldwide because people want a Mercedes regardless of the price point.

You have to give credit to their highly successful sales and marketing departments.

Try and sell Mustang as anything other than a massed produced cheap build muscle car and see how successful you are.

The Mustang isn’t something special, who’s kidding who?

Late model RHD converted Mustangs have been available here for a long time, yet they are definitely not something you see everyday day but hardly a day goes by where you don’t see an AMG or some other performance Euro.

Those converted Mustangs are very expensive and I guess when you are spending that kind of coin you think to yourself, I can afford a garage full of cars and a Mustang would be nice addition to it or I’m limited in how many cars I can have, should I buy a high priced Euro or a high price Mustang?

From my manufacturing background if you wish to turn a profit you have basically two choices, high volume lower priced product or low volume high priced product.

Low volume low price is to say I love the sound of the death rattle.

I'm a car person so I’d love for Mustang to be a real success and I’d also like to see the other Yank muscle cars here as well.

I hope Ford has done good market research and their strategy as odd as it may appear from a normal manufacturing perceptive is the right one..

[Joe5619]

The fact remains, for a car that is supposedly "nothing special" 2000 people have already put their money down for a car that is still 6+ months away from being on sale. And if you put your money down today you are waiting 15+ months for it. Whatever you might think, the market place is already deciding what it thinks of Mustang & Ford is onto a winner here. Ford just needs to put in on the track in V8 supercars & then I’ll be totally happy!!

You could argue a base Falcon is "nothing special" either, yet the top line XR8 has a waiting list too.. Ford really need a lot more "nothing special" cars in the line up!!!

[2011G6E]

Originally Posted by Anchor

I'm almost certain we haven't sold 15 yet. But that ST out front sure is damn nice for mid 40's.

Agree totally.
Except for the seats...they're lovely to look at, but I feel like (to put it delicately) I should go on a diet first if I am to be able to sit snugly right down in the heavily bolstered Recaros...you go to attempt to sit right back into the seat and, well, let's just say the material of the backrest won't wear out anytime soon...

[Anchor]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

Agree totally.
Except for the seats...they're lovely to look at, but I feel like (to put it delicately) I should go on a diet first if I am to be able to sit snugly right down in the heavily bolstered Recaros...you go to attempt to sit right back into the seat and, well, let's just say the material of the backrest won't wear out anytime soon...

Hahahahaha. Aaahhh yeah. They're definitely not "Australian" friendly.. To put it nicely. I took it for a test drive yesterday with a customer and well, i'd own one.

It will be interesting to see what the seats in the Mustang are like for size, considering it's built in the Fast Food Capital... Focus ST I can understand, coming from Europe.

[WILDB]

At the end of the day cars like the Mustang are purchased because people WANT a Mustang rather than needing a 'practical, roomy, big boot, cheap to run etc' type of car. I reckon they've priced it perfectly into the market for this sort of car - hence the demand for them.

By the way, people have happily waited exorbitant amounts of time for Toyota 86/BRZ, Golf R etc as well, so the Mustang is hardly alone in those stakes.

[brazzwald]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

The trick with the Mustang is that it's a "proper sized car".

We saw them in parking lots of places like Walmart and supermarkets in the USA...mum unloading a bunch of shopping into the boot, two kids seats in the back, we saw them with a whole family on board, or four adults.

The other coupes on the market, such as the excellent 86 and some hot hatches, are let down by a back seat only suitable for someone with no legs and a boot capacity of a couple of tins of baked beans.

The Mustang should be marketed as a viable alternative good sized family car...just one that happens to have two doors.
If it's anything like the Falcon however, they'll totally misread the market and shoot themselves in the foot by failing to promote the Ecoboost model and instead just try and cater to the vanishingly small number of buyers who want a V8 these days.
They should be saying to people "Hey...you can have something that looks like this, but you've got four cylinder rego, running costs and economy! Win/win!".

But they won't.

You sure it wasn't some form of a ford sedan re-badged as a Mustang (like a chev badge on a Commo over here)?

My old man is thinking of offloading his '69 302 Mustang convertible for a new Mustang when they come in, I told him no!

[Express]

Originally Posted by Joe5619

The fact remains, for a car that is supposedly "nothing special" 2000 people have already put their money down for a car that is still 6+ months away from being on sale. And if you put your money down today you are waiting 15+ months for it. Whatever you might think, the market place is already deciding what it thinks of Mustang & Ford is onto a winner here. Ford just needs to put in on the track in V8 supercars & then I’ll be totally happy!!

You could argue a base Falcon is "nothing special" either, yet the top line XR8 has a waiting list too.. Ford really need a lot more "nothing special" cars in the line up!!!

My God almost every manufacturer on the planet would have cacked themselves with laugher if they read your comment.

Ford have a waiting list on Falcon because they are too frightened to put on staff and ramp up production and manufacture enough stock to get them on show room floors in case they don’t sell.

The sales figures back up that buyers aren’t smashing down the doors to buy them and still production is restricted to a made to order plan.

What manufacturer does that with massed produced goods?

It should be produce, produce and produce, to sell, sell and sell and make hay while the sun shines.

When I went to the dealer to check out an XR8 they had no stock and was I told I could order one with about a 6 month wait.

I wonder how many other people did what I did and left to weigh up other options.

Mustang has achieved nothing but 2,000 orders.

I’ll talk to you in 2 years and we can discuss the sales success of the Mustang and by then we’ll have seen what that waiting list has achieved.

[Express]

Originally Posted by brazzwald

My old man is thinking of offloading his '69 302 Mustang convertible for a new Mustang when they come in, I told him no!

Good for you, tell him he needs to come to his senses.

[LoudPipes]

Originally Posted by Express

My God almost every manufacturer on the planet would have cacked themselves with laugher if they read your comment.

You’re wasting your time.

Some of the forum members are posting on emotion without even the simplest understanding of business practise in a manufacturing environment.

Ford aren’t doing what they’re doing with Falcon because it’s a winner, their approach is that of a manufacturer that has no faith in sales success.

And from my experience they are in the unenviable position of not being able to withdraw their product from the market at will like most manufacturers would.

They are tired to promise with a product that is becoming a lame duck.

If they could kill Falcon dead this morning they would and then they’d move on to their next phase as an import business.

A similar approach is being taken with Mustang, they’re stepping into unknown territory, a market where coupes and convertible have a history of struggling and they are playing a very cautious game.

I can understand a new product such as this will stir up interest and orders will be place in anticipation and initial supply will be spasmodic due to new product production constraints.

A smart manufacturer will at first concentrate their efforts into their major markets before feeding their satellites

But after that it is make or break.

Mustang is a well price car and no one is going to be fooled into thinking it is anything but a Mustang, a car for the people.

My concerns are also as you put it.

Low volume and low profit margin goes against the grain of accepted business practice.

If it doesn’t sell in numbers to turn a reasonable profit then the parent company will discontinue the effort, it used the same excuse to disband local production of Falcon and Territory.

[GTP534]

I don't think Ford Australia is handling the introduction of the Mustang well but I wonder how much of the blame can be placed on Ford US (?).

There is still no confirmation of the final specification/equipment, no confirmation of delivery and it seems like only 1 RHD model has been seen.

http://www.mustang6g.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22965

I would say most of the orders so far are because the Mustang, for many, is such an iconic car and for me it's a car that I've loved the look of and aspired to since I was a young boy. Definitely, it's a purchase from the heart.

I've posted before about some of the disappointments on what is most likely not going to make it here but at this stage it's still speculation.

I'm not going to withdraw from the purchase as I still believe I'll get one hell of a car but I can see Mustang not surviving here as once the initial enthusiasm dies down the next round of buyers are probably less driven by emotion and will be more discerning.

[Joe5619]

Why do people keep saying the mustang is a low volume car with regards to manufacturing?? It is a global car made in the hundreds of thousands FFS... Australia just needs to important what they can sell without taking risks of flooding the market & then needed to discount there inventory & not making a profit..

[responsef6]

Positivity people, mustang is awesome value, whatever aus spec misses out we can pick up through parts and opportunities aftermarket will be amazing. GT V8 coupe for 55k, 12-15k for 500kw warrantied package, even more incredible... I'm pumped

[Kieron]

Originally Posted by Express

My God almost every manufacturer on the planet would have cacked themselves with laugher if they read your comment.

Ford have a waiting list on Falcon because they are too frightened to put on staff and ramp up production and manufacture enough stock to get them on show room floors in case they don’t sell.

The sales figures back up that buyers aren’t smashing down the doors to buy them and still production is restricted to a made to order plan.

To be fair, Joe's analogy did say XR8's and they all sold out but what he was really getting at is exactly what I was saying, the XR8/GT/F6 are simply tarted up run of the mill cars and people still buy then despite knowing that.

What manufacturer does that with massed produced goods?

It should be produce, produce and produce, to sell, sell and sell and make hay while the sun shines.

When I went to the dealer to check out an XR8 they had no stock and was I told I could order one with about a 6 month wait.

I wonder how many other people did what I did and left to weigh up other options.

I agree but it depends on what the longer term aim is, in Falcons case, its an end of life product so things are different. It's not simply a matter of putting on more staff. Ford Aus will have a business plan that amongst other things, will have negotiated component demand with suppliers until shutdown, if those components suppliers are unable to change from that plan then Ford Aus are stuck. Perfect example was the German built ZF 6 auto for the FG-X XR8.

Holden with the Commodore are probably in a better situation given it's built on the Zeta platform and uses 'world' engines/transmissions etc hence them making hay while the sun shines.

Having said that, Ford (and Holden) need to shed the Falcon Car Co image and put the Ford oval back on consumers lists.

Mustang has achieved nothing but 2,000 orders.

I’ll talk to you in 2 years and we can discuss the sales success of the Mustang and by then we’ll have seen what that waiting list has achieved.

In two years, the sales success will support your argument but it's redundant. We all know this market segment has a limited lifespan and that's what will dictate sales, not peoples perception of what the Mustang is.

Beauty is, Ford (and i'm talking Ford as a whole) are punching them out for their home market, which is what will make or break the Mustang, Australia is nothing of significance on their radar and so far so good, but i'm sure it will settle down in the USA too -
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/...ales/25283505/

Development ROI for the RHD version will be consolidated across Aus & UK sales markets and quite likely at the platform level itself, so it could well be that Ford Aus keep it in the line-up after a few years and build to order, a better situation to the Aussie designed and built coupes of the past.



LoudPipes now gets it with his statement "Low volume and low profit margin goes against the grain of accepted business practice." hence why the Mustang is not priced lower.

He's wrong with his last statement "it used the same excuse to disband local production of Falcon and Territory." though. "One Ford" was partially about model consolidation and was introduced by Mullaly back in 2007ish. Falcon is almost 100% an orphan in the Ford lineup in a tiny market and that why it really had to go. The only unique platforms in Fords lineup now is the F series and Mustang and that's because they are successful brands in their own right.


Bottom line is, the Mustang in Aus is Ford Australia's new flagship performance model, it's not going to be promoted or perceived as a people's car like a Toyota Corolla, it's a halo model.