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VW and Mercedes-Benz have given up
In an exclusive interview with KFZ wirtschaft, Ford Austria managing director Danijel Dzihic explains where they are outperforming VW and Mercedes-Benz and why cargo bikes are not the solution.
VW and Mercedes-Benz have given up
Mr. Dzihic, how can the Corona year 2020 be summarized for Ford in Austria?
It was a very modest year for the car market. There's nothing to sugarcoat. But it was successful for Ford: We became number 1 in commercial vehicles for the first time and were able to increase our market share for the fifth time in a row.
How did that work?
By working with our strong dealers to make the impossible possible. In the spring we had the choice to bury our heads in the sand, complain or step on the gas. We have a great team in Austria, loyal, hard-working dealers. That's why we had a successful year despite Corona and with good products and achieved the largest market share since 1999: 7.65 percent.
They have always been big on the light commercial vehicle map. This happened in 2020. What's next?
We pursue a sustainability strategy: we prefer small, steady steps rather than big leaps. This will prevent us from stumbling along the way and having to start all over again. I still see growth potential in light commercial vehicles. These are moving tools that will continue to be in demand in the future despite the introduction of NoVA and as market leaders we want to continue to be successful in this area. You can't do everything with cargo bikes.
From July 1, 2021, light commercial vehicles will also be subject to NoVA for the first time. Will this cause demand to collapse?
On the one hand, I do not believe that the introduction of NoVA for N1 vehicles makes ecological sense. The companies will then extend the useful life of their inventory. I also believe that the timing of the NoVA introduction is extremely bad. We are still struggling with the corona crisis, so tax increases are disadvantageous. But I also believe that 2021 will be the best commercial vehicle year in history. Why? Because we will experience an extremely large number of early purchases. I wouldn't be surprised if companies even brought forward planned vehicle purchases from 2022. You have to know: Purchase contracts for vehicles up to May 2021 can still be approved NoVA-free until the end of October 2021. We will therefore continue to drum up the topic of commercial vehicles until May and do everything we can to consolidate our market leadership.
Will the hour of electric commercial vehicles then arrive?
That can be true. From 2022 onwards, some company fleets will certainly adapt. We have already seen with the subsidies for electric cars that such incentives have an effect. But I am convinced that commercial vehicles will have a future for a long time to come. And that is one of our biggest advantages at Ford: unlimited commercial vehicle expertise. In 2022, the E-Transit will come to WLTP with a range of up to 350 km.
And what will be possible for Ford in the passenger car segment in 2021?
There is still potential for growth here too. With the Galaxy we still have a van with an economical diesel drive that is eligible for input tax deduction, and we will soon be submitting a very attractive full hybrid variant, which will also be available for the S-Max. VW and Mercedes-Benz have given up in the pick-up segment. As a long-standing segment leader, we are also very well positioned here. And we have renewed our entire SUV range with Puma, Kuga and Explorer, offering three different hybrid variants. And the big hit will come in the summer: Here we are launching our first fully electric SUV, the Mustang Mach-E, which will impressively demonstrate our brand values - namely affordable sportiness and driving pleasure. So we have the right products on the market for the current time. Plus probably the best dealer organization. Because even though I was always ridiculed for it along the lines of “He has to say that,” dealer profitability is just as important to me as market share. And I think you can see now that we always meant that seriously. Because one thing is also clear: we are not retailers, but we need our strong local dealers.