Weekly Auto Notes: Why Ford’s New Supercar GT Is Important For The Company

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Ford Motors (NYSE:F) is setting up a new global performance division under whose umbrella it is expected to release 12 performance cars through 2020. [1] The division will pull together the SVT team from the U.S., the RS team from Europe, and Ford Racing.

At the North American International Auto Show (Detroit Auto Show) Ford introduced the new Ford GT, a V6 super car that is expected to go into production late next year. [2] The GT is an ultra high-performance car with a new twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter Eco boost engine that can operate at 600 horse power. Ford is reintroducing the car after a 10 year hiatus, having offered the car on the market briefly between 2004 and 2006. The company plans to introduce as many as 12 performance vehicles by 2020.

Performance cars don’t tend to do well on the fuel-efficiency front, so it might seem like a counter-intuitive move for Ford, which has been making a big push towards making fuel-efficient products; like the all-new, aluminum bodied F-150 series of trucks, to suddenly enter this market. However, there are two good reasons for this move by Ford, including some that are supporting of the push to make more environmentally friendly cars.

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1) Performance Vehicle Sales Are Trending Upward: Global sales of high-performance vehicles are up 70% since 2009, according to Ford. In comparison, light vehicles have grown by only 55% during that time period.

2) Performance Vehicles Attract Customers To The Brand: Sales numbers are not the only reason the performance vehicles are important to Ford. One cannot reasonably expect super cars to outsell any  of the company’s mainstream vehicles in the coming years. However, they generate considerably more buzz among car enthusiasts than the mass-market models. Car enthusiasts are generally loyal to brands and play a key role in influencing the views of younger consumers. According to the company, nearly two-thirds of the customers who buy the high-performance ST versions of the Fiesta and Focus are newcomers to the brand. What’s more: most of these tend to become regulars with the brand, with nearly 35% going on to buy another Ford. [3] Additionally, these buyers tend to be a lot younger. Younger people see their incomes rise faster and as a result they tend to buy ST models at twice the rate that other people buy Ford’s products.

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Notes:
  1. Ford has 12 performance cars coming by 2020, Detroit Free Press, December 2014 []
  2. Ford GT top among Detroit News readers, The Detroit News, January 2015 []
  3. Ford has 12 performance cars coming by 2020, Detroit Free Press, December 2014 []