10:48 am, December 10, 2013
THE Blue Oval is hoping its new SUV will appeal to a raft of conquest buyers.
The new EcoSport is due to go on sale in the second quarter of 2014 and although Ford is new to the SUV market, the company expects to shift 4,000 units next year.
‘We are extremely new to this segment in Europe and the UK, but we’re coming into the market with a strong line-up,’ said marketing director, Anthony Ireson.
‘The European SUV range now includes the all-new Kuga, in which we aim to sell 100,000 units in Europe next year, with the EcoSport to follow and later we’ll see the next generation Ford Edge.’
Ford says overall demand in the SUV segment has increased by 150 per cent over 2012 and the company is confident the EcoSport will attract a whole new buyer base thanks to a starting price of £14,995 – £3,000 cheaper than the Vauxhall Mokka.
‘Clearly the market is changing in Europe and we’ve purposely kept the line-up as simple as possible with just one Titanium trim model in order to broaden the appeal for more customers,’ said product manager, Alan Wood.
‘As an estimate, I’m confident we could see 50 per cent of overall all EcoSport sales conquest and 40 per cent from current Ford buyers.’
He added: ’80 per cent of our buyers now purchase their vehicles on Ford’s PCP option, and with the optional Titanium X Pack available, this could help to improve residual values after two years by up to 50 per cent.’
