Ford slash prices and add value

FORD AUSTRALIA has locked the bean counters in the cellar and announced a raft of price reductions. There are no prizes for guessing that the motivation behind the price cuts is a desire to keep sales of the Falcon and Territory bubbling along in the face of stiff competition.

The current model BF Falcon is due for replacement in 2008 by the New Falcon ‘Orion’ whose debut can not come quickLY enough for Ford. Falcon sales have been slowing in the face of an onslaught from main rivals Holden and Toyota who are both fielding new generation models and the Falcon is looking a little tired.

Aside from the price reductions which we will get to shortly, the Falcon now benefits from the addition of Electronic Stability Control (ESC) as standard fitment on all automatic petrol models, as well as manual and automatic XR models. This brings the Falcon in line with the VE Commodore and Aurion which both include stability control as standard.

Ford has left the price of the regular Falcon in place and concentrated on both reducing the prices and increasing the equipment on the XR model range. Price reductions on the XR range start at $1,000 on the XR6 Turbo and XR8 and up to $1,720 for the XR6 manual and four-speed auto. The XR6 ZF six-speed model has had it’s price reduced by $1,220.

All XR’s now come with upgraded kit in the form of premium audio systems and climate control air-conditioning with the XR6 now coming standard with the same 18-inch alloy wheels featured on the XR8.

"With the release of the BF Falcon MkII in October last year, we took the deliberate strategic repositioning of some of our most popular Falcon models, in order to deliver and even more customer-focused price and specification set for our vehicles. We have now taken these actions a step further, building on the overall competitiveness of the Falcon brand with the most comprehensively equipped Falcon range we have ever released." said Ford Australia president Tom Gorman.

Sales of the Territory continue to fare well. However there is some concern over the looming introduction of the next generation Toyota Kluger so Ford is prepping the Territory for a bit of a stouch.

While prices for the top end Territory models remain unchanged the entry level models are where the deals are to be found. The TS RWD’s price is now reduced by $2700, the TS AWD drops by $2500, the TX AWD by $1850 and the TX RWD sees its price shaved by $1500. TX RWD and TS RWD now come standard with stability control. While the premium Territory models prices remain unchanged they do benefit from the inclusion of a six-way adjustable drivers’s seat.

The revised Ford Focus is due to hit the showrooms over the next week and it will be offered with a starting price of $19,990.

Ford's Ranger ute range has been the recipient of the largest cuts. In a segment dominated by Toyota’s Hilux and Holden’s Rodeo, the Ranger has struggled to achieve the level of sales Ford hoped for. Price reductions across the Ranger range start at $2,000 and top out at a worthwhile $4,000 on the XL single-cab diesel.

The entry level XL single-cab 4x2 and 4x4 models do not receive a price reduction however they now come standard with air-conditioning which was previously a $2,000 option.

It all adds up to a good time to be shopping for a Ford.

Source : GoAuto