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Ford's fleet director Kevin Griffin has declared that the firm's RVs, specifically for the Focus, are undervalued in the longer term.
Speaking exclusively to BusinessCar, he said: "For the first book entry at 10 months, the Focus outperforms the Golf. After three years it doesn't. Why? Our strategy hasn't altered.
"The Focus in the near term is where it should be. What's frustrating is the two- to three-year value - it should be higher.
"We've got a lean inventory and the lowest stocks we've ever had. That makes sure we don't have overage stock and go out at a lower transaction price - and that can hurt you."
Griffin is expecting a peak in interest for petrol-engined business cars when diesel Euro6 emissions regulations kick-in in 2014, specifically for the company's low-capacity, high-economy Ecoboost engines.
He described how diesel engines are set to gain weight and become more expensive in order to qualify for the new laws: "From my perspective, the success of [Ecoboost engines] is about tomorrow.
"Euro6 [tech] will hang a lot more on a diesel engine to make it heavier. My view is that when we get to stage six, that is when Ecoboost engines will become more successful."
Despite claims fleet sales have been propping up the largely stagnant UK car market in 2012, Griffin claimed sales of core company cars are in fact down year-on-year when channels such as rental and Motability are excluded: "In industry terms the fleet market is down a bit but retail is slightly up.
"If you take the anomalies out, that's what happens. The net fleet market is probably down around 15%. Rental is volatile, it's up and down."
Speaking about future vehicles, Griffin said the company's 'world car' model - a platform-sharing programme where the underpinnings of a car remain the same wherever it is sold and changes are made to engines and trim levels accordingly - was proving effective and would continue to be used for the foreseeable future due to its flexibility: "We're looking at the Mustang with [the platform] at the moment.
"That gives us a real reach. We have cars running on hydrogen in California and they will become 'world cars' in the next generation, as was the case with biofuels. We've not been shouting about any particular type of technology because we believe it will be an amalgamation of several types."
He hinted at the possibility of new models: "There's the possibility of a large 4x4 and a Capri - we have the opportunity to do that again. For the Capri, the capability is there, it's just whether it makes sense, and the 4x4 has to stack up on a European case."
The Capri would likely be based on the evros concept car shown at last year's Frankfurt motor show.
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