According to calculations by Ford Motor Co., it has only taken a year-and-a-half of production to make the Ford Focus the world’s best-selling car. By many measures, the Focus has been a home run for Ford. It has brought in a younger audience than the company was able to do with its predecessor, the Escort. It has proven to Wall Street that Ford can sell the same basic car in different markets around the world.
By Ford’s count, the company has sold 228,000 Focuses from December 1999 through April 2000 in about 60 countries, edging the previous best-seller, the Volkswagen Golf, by about 24,000 vehicles. Since April, Ford has increased production in North America, and in June, the 1 millionth Focus rolled off an assembly line in Germany.
But while Ford spread the news in Europe and pointed it out to Wall Street analysts, it has kept it down in the U.S. The reason is that the image Ford wants to give U.S. buyers, that the Focus is for the young and stylish, would clash with the best-seller image. Sales results have hit Ford’s targets. About 46 percent of buyers are under 35, and 24 percent are under 25. This is far younger than the profile for any other Ford product, and younger than competitors can bring in.
According to Wesley Brown, an analyst with Nextrend, “Ford’s problem is that they don’t have a step-up vehicle right now that’s as cool as a Focus. They’ve got to bring in something above it.”