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.