Ford continues on the streets: see what the automaker still offers and launches

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In January of this year, the Ford announced the closure of all its manufacturing activities in the Brazilian market, including the closing of its main unit here, located in Camaçari, in Bahia.

Also holder of the national brand Troller, the company created the hope that the jeep assembler in Horizonte, Ceará, would survive, being sold to another owner, which was not confirmed. Ford is only interested in selling the assembly line and its industrial equipment, and Troller brand and its products will also die by the end of this year.

Without the national factories, Ford lost most of its sales in the country, concentrated in the hatch Ka, in the three volumes of Ka Sedan and in the SUV EcoSport, all made in Brazil.

In August, it only appeared as the 18th best-selling brand, according to Fenabrave. Now, the company has changed its strategy, working here with a 100% imported catalogue.

What does Ford still offer?

Currently, Ford offers only four products to the public, all made outside Brazil.

The most affordable, but starting at R$ 188,990, is the Ranger. The brand’s medium pickup is manufactured in Argentina and fights with models like the Toyota Hilux and the Chevrolet S10. It also features single or dual cabin options and a 2.2 or 3.2 engine, both turbodiesel. It is worth remembering that the neighboring country is a specialist in this segment and most of the medium pickup trucks already come from there.

directly from China, Ford matters or Territory, mid-range SUV that is in the same segment – ​​and price range – as the Jeep Compass. Offered in a single version, the Titanium, the model features items such as autonomous emergency braking and adaptive cruise control. The 1.5 turbo engine is not the most powerful, delivering 150 hp of power, much less than the main rival. The price is also not the most attractive, starting at R$ 214,990.

The third model that was even offered together with Ka and EcoSport at Ford stores before the factories closed is the iconic Mustang. The sports coupe is imported from USA, which does not help its price of R$ 545,000. However, the Mach 1 version offered here is one of the most capable on the track, with improved suspension and aerodynamics.

A nova Ford

O Ford Bronco Sport it was the first launch of the brand after the end of manufacturing activities in Brazil. And he has exactly the profile that the “new Ford” seeks. It is a medium SUV, category with higher margins, imported from mexico, which significantly reduces the tax burden.

The complete catalog of safety and connectivity technologies together with the 2.0 turbo engine with all-wheel drive were a way to avoid a direct fight with the Jeep Compass, since the Bronco has much simpler options in the United States that don’t reach here. Cheaper versions would create a bigger dispute. The Bronco Sport is coming out today for R$265,690.

The brand’s most recent announcement, however, is a utility vehicle. Ford will again offer in Brazil the Transit, passenger van that can take up to 19 people. The prices have not yet been defined, but the novelty will arrive here with a 2.0 turbodiesel engine of 170 hp and even maintenance assistant in range, rare equipment in working models. The van, however, is mounted on the Uruguay by an outsourced factory, Nordex, with imported components.

There is still a third release scheduled for 2022. Ford Maverick. It is an intermediate pickup like Fiat Toro that shares the platform and the line of mexican assembly with Bronco Sport.

In the United States, the cheaper version costs as much as an EcoSport sold there (US$ 19,995) and already has a hybrid engine capable of doing up to 17 km/l. However, for Brazil, the brand should adopt the same posture seen in Bronco Sport, bringing the more expensive and equipped versions.

fleet aging

Ford’s sharp drop in sales, however, doesn’t mean that its cars will be rarely seen on the streets. A survey carried out by the consultancy Fraga Inteligência Automotiva revealed that the reduction of the brand’s models in the total national fleet should occur very gradually.

Today, Ford is responsible for 10.03% of the current Brazilian fleet, including passenger and light commercial vehicles. Since the beginning of the brand’s operations in Brazil, which took place in 1919, until December 2020, the company has sold 4,498,065 cars, with more than 2,200 versions of 40 different models. The best seller in the company’s history here was the Fiesta, which accumulated 1,265,063 units sold.

Fraga Inteligência Automotiva’s survey showed that the reduction in the share of Ford vehicles in the circulating fleet should be 14.31% by 2025. In the next little more than three years, there should still be 3,853,943 cars of the company running in Brazil.

The point is that, without selling high volumes of 0 km cars and focusing on cars with low sales volume, but with higher profit margins, the retirement of very old cars will be greater than the registration of new models. The result should be a significant increase in the average age of the brand’s vehicles running on our streets.

Today, of the Ford cars in circulation, 37.28% have between 4 and 10 years of use. Models between 11 and 20 years old represent 26.69% of the total, while only 19.05% are already over 20 years old.

Fraga’s information shows that, in 2025, 44.52% of all Ford cars will fall into the age group between 11 and 20 years. Ford cars that can still be considered used, with up to 3 years of use, will be only 6.42% of all vehicles of the brand circulating.

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