AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)02/19 Report--

In order to reduce costs to launch "three-cylinder" models, in order to achieve a lower threshold to enhance market competitiveness is the plan of many car companies, including Buick, Chevrolet and Ford and other car companies have done so before, but without exception by the market marginalization. After Buick and Chevrolet returned to the four-cylinder model with remarkable results, Ford finally "couldn't bear it" and will push the four-cylinder model again.

According to media reports, an internal document on the establishment of the Changan Ford four-cylinder engine team has been exposed, which shows that the Changan Ford cash focus (code name C519) will launch a four-cylinder version, which means Ford focus will return to the four-cylinder engine. According to the plan, the new four-cylinder engine will be upgraded from the current 1.5L, 1.5T three-cylinder engine to "cylinder expansion", and may even switch to Changan Blue Whale series engines. The latest four-cylinder Fox is expected to hit the market as soon as this year.

From Changan Ford's new car propulsion plan in China in recent years, some of the main models no longer offer versions with four-cylinder engines, and use two 1.5L/1.5T three-cylinder engines, including Ford focus, Forbes and Yibo models, which only have three-cylinder engines. This is also one of the main reasons why Changan Ford has lost its competitiveness in compact models and below. After all, brands such as Buick and Chevrolet, owned by SAIC GM, have taken the lead in returning to four-cylinder models, which helps the brand regain market sales. Buick Yinglang frequently ranks at the top of the market.

Generally speaking, three-cylinder gasoline engines are more in line with increasingly stringent fuel economy and emission regulations, and can also lower the threshold for car purchase, so automakers vigorously promote such engines to meet regulatory requirements and avoid fines. However, this practice often ignores the actual considerations and needs of consumers, resulting in a very difficult promotion and a significant decline in sales. Some consumers will think that the three-cylinder engine will have more obvious noise and jitter, and even no more fuel-efficient than the four-cylinder engine with the same displacement, but it is just the product of the manufacturer's response to the laws and regulations, and the consumer will pay for it.

Although three cylinders are the only way for small engines in the future, and now even Toyota is trying to develop "three-cylinder" models, for increasingly marginalized joint venture brands such as Ford, consumers may give priority to consumer demand. the only three-cylinder version of the whole range of models is bound to affect sales. In terms of sales in 2020, the Ford focus sold only 34500 vehicles, less than a fraction of Buick Yinglang's 296000.

According to data, Ford, Lincoln and Jiangling sold 602600 vehicles in China in 2020, an increase of 6.1 percent over the same period last year. Among them, Changan Ford sold 253000 vehicles, an increase of 37.7 percent over the same period last year. Although this is Ford's first year-on-year increase in sales in China since 2017, it is mainly driven by the growth of its SUV models. According to statistics, the Ford brand sold a total of 139728 SUV models in 2020, an increase of 32.4% over the same period last year.

As the "profit cow" of Changan Automobile, Ford first established a joint venture with Changan in 2012, and it also had a brilliant time. In particular, Fox won the top car sales for three consecutive years from 2001 to 2014, and its monthly sales reached 60, 000 at its peak. It helped Changan Ford reach a peak of 960000 units in 2016, but now it seems that sales have halved or even less than the sales of Changan independent brands.

It is not difficult to see that the growth of Changan Ford's sales data is mainly due to Changan Ford's adjustment of the product launch rhythm this year, but for now, Changan Ford still has a long way to go to really return to the mainstream camp of the joint venture. perhaps the main selling model Fox re-added "four-cylinder model", such as Buick Yinglang to help Changan Ford sales pick up.

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