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Ford minimising 'price shock'
Date: 07 October 2009 | Author: Tristan Young
Ford UK MD Nigel Sharp hopes he will be able to hold off any further price increases this year because fleets are "suffering from sticker-price shock" over rapidly rising prices caused by differences in the Euro exchange rate.
However, Sharp added: "We had assumed it would be 85p to the Euro, and we wouldn't want to look at pricing until the end of the year, but if the Euro strengthens then we'll have to change pricing."
Speaking exclusively to BusinessCar Sharp said: "The Pound to Euro exchange rate made manufacturers look at the profitability of fleet units."
As part of Ford's efforts to cope with the recession and a weakening Pound it has been cutting back on fast-turn business such as daily rental.
"Rental business has been cut back, some cuts this year, but mainly over the past three years. We've reduced our business in that area by a third over that time," he said.
Sharp said it was the manufacturer's responsibility to act to protect RVs as much as possible when times were hard.
"If we want to be the guardian of the customer's money then we need a good RV."
This approach coupled to new products has seen Ford's share of the market increase according to Sharp, who added: "Corporate sales are difficult, the first thing businesses cut in a recession is capital spend."
