Ford sees Fusion spurring higher Europe market share

GENEVA, March 5 Reuters reported that Ford Motor Co. on Tuesday unveiled the Ford Fusion, an upright hatchback that it says will define a new segment of the small car market in Europe and which will help grow its European market share this year.

David Thursfield, chairman of Ford Europe, said he expects to sell about 50,000 to 60,000 of the five-door hatchbacks this year after they arrive at dealerships in June or July. After that, he expects sales of up to 150,000 annually for the Fusion, which uses many of the same components from the new Ford Fiesta small car.

``We're looking for 9.3 percent of the market,'' up from a market share of 8.6 percent for the Ford brand in Europe last year, Thursfield said. ``That's what we're shooting for. It's a pretty tough market.''

Ford officials have also talked about selling a few of the Fusions in North America in a few years.

The Fusion and the new Fiesta subcompact, which was last redesigned in 1988, are one of 45 new or refreshed vehicles that Ford Europe plans to launch between 2000 and 2005.

New products will help grow market share and profits even as industry sales continue on a downward trend, Thursfield said. Total industry sales are expected to fall to 16.9 million units in 2002, he added.

Over the past two years, Ford has cut its European capacity by 600,000 units, and last month announced plans to cut 1,400 jobs at its plant in Genk, Belgium. Thursfield said those moves will help the Ford brand improve on its slim profits last year.

The restructuring of Ford Europe has served as a blueprint for Ford's recently announced restructuring of its operations in North America, which includes the closure of five plants, killing four vehicles and eliminating 35,000 jobs.

``We've taken 600,000 units out of capacity,'' in Europe, Thursfield said. ``We don't plan any more cuts in capacity.''

While Ford of Europe has restructured its operations, it has also improved its vehicle quality, as a recent industry study has shown, and launched a number of new products. ``The average age of our model line-up has dropped from 5.4 to 2.9 years,'' since the Geneva auto show two years ago, Thursfield said.

The Fusion, which has a higher roofline than the traditional small car, allowing for an upright seating position and more cargo space in the rear hatch, will create a new category of the market, said Martin Leach, Vice President of Product Development for Ford Europe. ``It's not a traditional small car. At Ford, we decided it was an urban activity vehicle.''

The Fusion will have company shortly. Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd. showed its four-door Getz hatchback, also about the same size as the Fusion, which goes on sale in September.

General Motors Corp.'s German Opel division on Tuesday showed its Concept M, also a small four-door hatchback. GM officials said the vehicle would eventually go into production.

``I think you'll see something like that fairly shortly,'' said Mike Burns, head of GM Europe. ``Certainly within the next 18 months.''

Just a few years ago, Opel brought to market its successful Zafira, a new entry in the or mid-size segment of the market, which allowed seating for seven people in three rows, leaving Ford flat-footed. ``In all honesty, we missed the pulse of the market,'' Thursfield said.