Ford's Future Global Compacts Will Converge

Ford's Future Global Compacts Will Converge

The Ford Motor Company's chief executive, Alan Mulally, has been pitching his "One Ford" global strategy to fellow executives as well as the financial community. But what exactly does that mean? For starters, it could bring together all the various permutations of the Ford Focus on a common platform when the next-generation models begin arriving in 2010-'11. Suppliers familiar with Ford's latest battle plan say the company's European operation is developing a future compact-vehicle platform known internally as C2. The new architecture will underpin replacements for the European, American and Chinese versions of the Focus, they say. All could share common designs and sheet metal, although each version will be specifically tailored for the local market.

Currently, the U.S.-built Focus sits on an aging platform known internally as C170, while overseas editions of the Focus are built on the more modern Europe-engineered C1. The C1 platform also provides the base for a number of products from various Ford subsidiaries, including the Mazda 3 and the Volvo C30, C70, S40 and V50.

The redesigned Focus for the U.S. is due in early 2011 and likely will be badged as a 2012 model.

When the newer C2 platform is introduced in global markets, it will also support the next-generation C-Max crossover, which suppliers say will be marketed for the first time in the U.S. in model-year 2012. The tall wagon likely will be built in Mexico and should arrive in U.S. dealerships in the spring of 2011, about the same time as the new Focus sedan.

Ford has a contingency plan to shift the next-generation Escape, also due in model year 2012, to the new C2 platform. While the Mercury Mariner likely will be phased out, there is a provision to add an upscale Lincoln variant of the Escape in 2012 to compete with such premium compact SUVs as the Acura RDX.