FORD AUSTRALIA HAS CONFIRMED that it will not pursue plans to produce the Focus locally, instead opting to invest $230 million ($42 million of which has been contributed by the Federal Government’s Green Car Innovation Fund) in the development of three new fuel-efficient powertrains for the volume-selling Falcon and Territory.
Headlining the new range will be Ford’s 2.0 litre turbocharged EcoBoost four-cylinder engine, which is slated to be introduced into the Falcon line-up in 2011 and will be the first RWD application of the high-efficiency powerplant.
With high compression and direct-injection, Ford claims the high-tech four-cylinder will deliver more low-down torque than a 3.0 litre V6 of comparable output.
The EcoBoost engine will also weigh substantially less than the 4.0 litre inline six that presently powers the Falcon, further improving economy.
Fuel consumption is expected to be 20 percent less than the current six-cylinder engine, while carbon dioxide emissions will drop by 15 percent.
The 2.0 litre four-cylinder will be offered alongside the Euro IV-compliant inline six that is due to be introduced mid next year, however there are presently no plans to assemble the EcoBoost engine locally.
There are also no plans to offer the EcoBoost engine in the Territory.
A liquid injection LPG system will be rolled out in 2010 for the Falcon, delivering improved efficiency and more power while possessing similar driving characteristics to the petrol-powered inline-six.
When it arrives in Ford showrooms next year, the LPG-powered Falcon will also be the first car sold in Australia to feature liquid injection LPG technology.
The Territory will get a 2.7 litre turbodiesel V6 from 2011 onward, a powertrain which Ford hopes will help broaden the appeal of the already popular Territory by reducing fuel consumption without sacrificing driveability.
CO2 emissions will be cut by as much as 25 percent compared to the current naturally-aspirated inline six.
For the short term, the turbodiesel powertrain will be exclusive to the Territory. While Ford’s chief vehicle engineer Rob Connor said that there was “…no technical reason it couldn’t fit in a Falcon,” there is no plan to produce a diesel Falcon in the near future.
Marin Burela, President and CEO of Ford Australia, was adamant that the decision not to proceed with the locally-built Focus would not result in any job losses.
“I think we’re responding appropriately with the direction that we’re taking,” Mr Burela said.
“To make a small car absolutely viable in this country, we needed to bring the most competitive levels of opportunity with this vehicle.
“And to do that, we recognised - after studying this to death - that there was absolutely no appropriate way for us to deliver that by producing this vehicle locally.
A rapidly changing economic climate was cited by Mr Burela as the primary reason for cancelling the locally-built Focus, with buyers still clinging to large cars and SUVs like the Falcon and Territory despite the global financial crisis.
“When we made this decision in 2007, it was the right decision at that time.
“The rules have changed completely since then. Ensuring that we have a viable Focus in this country is something that we’re absolutely going to deliver.”
The Focus will instead be sourced from Ford’s Asian assembly plants. It was originally estimated that local Focus production would create around 300 new jobs, however Ian Jones, Federal Secretary for the AMWU’s vehicle division, says that in terms of potential jobs, “the employment the Focus was going generate was really on the fringe.”
But while Ford workers won’t be seeing a new vehicle added to local production lines, Ford Australia remains bullish on the questions of how new car buyers will respond to its upcoming range of fuel-efficient large cars.
“Australians have said to us very clearly: we love the comfort, we love the driving performance of a large car, but we also want sustainability and we want fuel economy,” Mr Burela said.
“Quite frankly, I think that what we’ve got here is a complete spectrum that delivers what Australian consumers are looking for.”
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I really hope this works.
The diesel turbo v6 would be nice in the Falcon. They should look at doing that for sure. Just gives sales teams that one extra thing to work with to sell more cars.
Did they say anything about export opportunities for the Falcon and Territory?
Probably the new Labour governrment, dumping of John Howard’s WorkCoices with their unfair dismissal laws, and the threat union activity killed it. But they won’t tell you that.
No what killed it is that it is no longer profitable to build cars in this country, unless they have Government assistance and I`m not sure it will be available after 2015. The Productivity Commission has recommended that the money be turned off in 2015 and import Tariffs reduced to 5% by 2010.
Look guys in all honesty what small car have we built that was world class? None! Somehow I don’t think we could build a better Focus than the Germans do. Look at what the Americans have done with the Focus they build, f@#ked it up to the point where on most motoring sites US customers want and prefer to import the same Focus range as offered in Europe and built in Germany.
What Ford is doing is spot on. Our strengths are affordable large passenger vehicles like the Falcon and Territory. Despite what people think there is a place for larger RWD type vehicles, and Ford need to take advantage of that and put together an export plan. Make no mistake a Falcon would sell well in the US, especially once their economy takes off again (it’s only a matter of time). I wouldn’t bother with the 2.0L rubbish, but the 2.7L Turbo Diesel is bang on. Make it as fuel efficient as possible and with loads of torque so acceleration doesn’t suffer at all.
Continue to offer the I6 especially in performance turbo guise. As for the V8 powered Falcons? I still think there is and will always be a market for it. The biggest economy in the world (the US) loves V8’s as we do, so they need to keep it and find a way to export it to the US. There is something sweet about driving one, and if it wasn’t available we would dearly miss it.
I also hope this gives the green light for FPV to import the new Focus RS
Well - it won’t be a family car with a turbo as under25s can’t drive them in many states (on P plates), nor insure them as older cars in the future - unless Ford can tell the Gov’t the policies are wrong about turbo technology then the Gov’t will waste money (again) bailing out vehicles out of step with the marketplace.
You won’t change the mind of the Actuaries in the Insurance industry either.
Well the new Golf certainly changed the minds of the RTA, who allow P platers to drive Turbo cars on a case by case basis. If they allow the new Golfs to be P plater friendly, surely they’ll allow a 2L Turbo Falcon, especially since it’ll be less powerful than the current I6 which is allowed. If anything the 2L Turbo Falcon will finally kill off this stupid no turbo restriction and bring it back to a power-weight ratio based system, which it should always have been.
2.0L turbo: ~ 205kW/380nm
http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=27455
This is a good decision by Ford to intorduce these new engine techs. The export target could be Europe with the i4T to replace the discontinued Ford Scorpio which was a RWD model.
Tom, you are spot on with the P plate restrictions. It should’ve always been power to weight just like bikes. 125kW/ton including an allowance of 100kg for driver/rider and fuel.
What we need are lighter Falcons. We have unique RWD tradition and expertise in Australia so we do not have to begin to manufacture FWD cars. What we need to do is to get the weights down and the engine lighter so that an increase in economy does not equate to a decrease in performance. Ford is heading in the right direction by making the Falcon lighter, but both the Falcon and the Commodore have put on weight with each incarnation in the last 20 years so we have a lot of ground to make up.
I always believed Ford would never build the Focus here, when there is a perfectly good plant in Asia that can build it for half the price. Besides, Aussies don’t like the Focus, it’s a really poor seller here, so why spend billions on a plant to make them.
Ford seems to have discovered, belatedly, what VAG has known for years- a 2.0l direct injection turbo engine can easily move a Falcon sized car, especially when you drop out the weight of the gigantic straight 6 and its gigantic transmission. You will no longer be able to tow your 25′ caravan with it, but if you need that get the loooooonnnnnnnnng overdue Territory diesel instead.
I still think Ford (like Holden) must be taking the same slow pills, for they have both steadfastly refused to introduce a diesel, a direct injected LPG car, and in Ford’s case, small cars with appeal (by that I mean price appeal as well - Ford’s Festiva was a crap car but had appeal and sold and sold and sold). The replacement Fiesta was a far better car, but didn’t sell due to uncompetitive price. Holden has some crap small cars, but they appeal on price, just like the Festiva did 10 years ago.
I feel by the time you can get the new stuff from Ford in the showrooms, the world will have moved on to 1.4L twincharged engines instead of 2.0l, and Ford will have a showroom full of white elephants yet again - they need their new stuff NOW - TODAY.
I don’t think there is a place for the car manufacturing industry in Aust. The only reason it’s survived this long is through billions of dollars of hand-outs. The Focus plan was never going to be financially viable. The Cruze will not make a profit for Holden. If the Cruze is not up to scratch when compared to its competitors, I will not buy, wherever it is made. Hyundai builds better cars than Holden/Ford Aus and for cheaper.
I believe Ford has got it right this time. Ford needs to keep moving forward with the Falcon and Territory product. Diesel is a must for their range, and with several years of experience with the 2.7litre V6 twin turbo diesel, I can tell you this is a bullet proof engine, powerful and fuel efficient. It’s will be ideal for the Territory, and Falcon (hopefully sooner rather than later) when mated to a 6 speed auto.
Researching on the web about the EcoBoost 4 cylinder engine, it would seem to be on par with, if not a little more powerful, and much more efficient than GMH’s proposed 3.0l V6 for the Commodore. This is smart, and should generate more sales through Government departments and as Reps cars. As already mentioned, if the Falcon can loose some kilo’s, the EcoBoost engine will quickly gain a reputation as a real alternative to the I6 petrol and LPG versions.
The new type direct injection LPG system will be a winner too. To be the first Aussie manufacturer to offer it, will make the Falcon stand out. GMH has been talking about their LPG developments for quite some time, but no direct injection LPG yet!
I too believe that Ford America will be looking for a rear drive platform once they recover from the GFC. Why they haven’t bothered to use the rear drive control blade IRS for the Mustang is beyond me! I guess they’re not big on cars that handle.
As also said above, Ford Australia make cars for Australian conditions. They are experts at it. If you’ve had any experience with european cars in Australia as I have, you’ll soon find they suffer dozens of concerns all related to not being engineered for Australia. From ABS/ESP set-up, to suspension failure and poor A/C systems. And Aussies are paying a premium for these cars! To be honest, if you haven’t been in an Aussie Falcon or Commodore in the last 2-3 years, you’ll be surprised just how good they really are compared with overseas rivals. As far as I’m concerned, Aussie made large cars are still the way to go!
Why not a diesel Falcon, though? Why does everyone hate diesels so much?