Ford plans to sell small cars in Indonesia
Ford plans to sell small cars in Indonesia
By Alastair Doak
Ford is planning to sell the European-designed Escort and Fiesta, and perhaps the company's all-new micro car the Ka, in Indonesia.
The Ka, the smallest car the company has designed for Europe, goes on sale in Europe late next year.
The company's group vice president of product development, Jac Nasser told Automotive Business & Motoring News that the company was now deciding on when and how it would assemble these vehicles in Indonesia.
"We view Indonesia as an important market today and one that will become more important in terms of volume in the longer term" Nasser said.
"So our intention is to find the optimum way to manufacture Ford products there.
"We are in discussions about the alternative ways of doing that. We are confident that we will be able to put together a very strong proposition for Indonesia.
"It is one of the key Asian markets and we plan to build around it as an integral part of our strategy in this region. We could export from there eventually but initially our interest is for domestic consumption," he said.
The Indonesian market is primarily made up of lower cost utility vehicles. So if you are going to be a major player in the market then you have to participate in that segment.
"We will enter that market with present products, more likely to be Ford-based product from Europe.
"By the end of next year we will have the Sub B Ka in production in Europe, the Fiesta and Escort. The Fiesta model comes as a whole range including pickup trucks, vans, and three and five-door hatchbacks," Nasser said.
Nasser said the company had yet to decide if the Escort and Fiesta would replace the present Mazda-sourced Laser or sell alongside that model.
However, he said the company would rely only on Ford designed vehicles in the long term.
"One alternative is to move away from Laser. The other is to supplement it with these other European-designed vehicles. As part of Ford 2000 (Ford's new management strategy) our intention is to develop growth strategies around Ford products," he said.
The Escort and Fiesta have both just been upgraded in Europe and are considered to be substantially better vehicles than their predecessors.
The updated Fiesta was launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September and features new front and rear styling as well as a redesigned, more ergonomic interior.
Noise, vibration and harshness levels have been significantly improved. Safety features, such as air bags, are also now offered.
The car is also powered by the first of Ford's new small- capacity, Yamaha-designed 16-valve four-cylinder engines.
Dubbed Zetec SE the engines are smooth, powerful and clean, and have played a significant part in transforming the Fiesta from a mediocre light car into a car that competes strongly with the leaders in that class in Europe.