AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)05/15 Report--

Forrest, as a "special model" launched by Ford in China, has achieved good sales performance with a lower threshold. However, under Ford's aggressive three-cylinder strategy, Forrest replaced the three-cylinder engine, causing the car to quickly fall out of the mainstream market.

On May 14, Changan Ford announced the official launch of the new generation Forrest, with a total of four models with a guided price range of 9.08-116800 yuan. As a new generation of models, Forrest has a lot of room to improve its appearance and interior decoration, and its overall competitiveness is further enhanced.

The new generation Forrest in the appearance of a new family design language, large size before the interior of the network using dot matrix design, with open corner headlights, the overall design is more similar to the current focus, the new car is equipped with LED headlights, the shape of the lamp group is more sharp, silver chrome strips run through the connection around the headlights. The headlights at the rear of the vehicle are also connected by chrome strips, with the English logo "ESCORT" printed on the top. In terms of body size. The length, width and height of the new car is divided into 4633/1825/1490mm, the wheelbase is 2687mm, compared with the current model length increases 46mm, other parameters remain unchanged.

The new Forrest interior also uses a brand new design, with a connected screen design consisting of a 10.25-inch LCD dashboard and a 10.25-inch multimedia display screen, which is younger and more technological than the current one. The leather package and double color design of the center console result in a sharp increase in the quality of the high-end and details in the car. It can be said that the new Forrest interior design still has a certain degree of sincerity.

In terms of power, the new Forrest continues to carry a 1.5L three-cylinder engine with a maximum power of 90kW, a peak torque of 152N ·m, and a transmission system that matches a six-speed automatic transmission.

As a Chinese special model, Forrest shouldered the task of supporting the brand at the lowest point of Changan Ford, reaching a peak of 35000 vehicles a month in 2017. However, after entering 2018, the sales of Forrest gradually declined, and the main reason for the decline was the replacement of three-cylinder engines throughout the department. In the market environment at that time, consumers generally could not accept the three-cylinder engine, and there was also a lot of psychological resistance, resulting in a continuous decline in Forrest sales.

The new generation of Forrest has been significantly upgraded in appearance and interior. at that time, its deficiency was mainly in the power system, and its continuation of the three-cylinder engine strategy was perhaps the most difficult problem for the new generation.

Forrest's main competitors in the market are Buick Yinglang, Chevrolet Kruze and Honda Ling pie, all of which are equipped with three-cylinder engines, but also add four-cylinder models to the three-cylinder engine. Take Buick Yinglang as an example, sales of its 1.3T models on the market have been in the doldrums, rising since the launch of the 1.5L model last year, selling 28443 vehicles in April and 117362 from January to April, ranking third in the car market.

More and more brands begin to advocate the three-cylinder strategy. In January this year, Toyota launched the Leiling / Carola with a three-cylinder engine on the basis of the four-cylinder model on sale. Although the power performance of the three-cylinder engine is better than that of the four-cylinder engine, it is not accepted by consumers. Data show that Leiling sold 14950 vehicles in March, of which only 2386 were 1.5L models.

It is not difficult to see that even if the current three-cylinder engine is better than the four-cylinder model in power, it does not dispel consumers' views on the three-cylinder engine. For Forrest, even if it is a new replacement model, but the three-cylinder engine may become an obstacle to future sales growth.

Welcome to subscribe to the WeChat public account "Automotive Industry Focus" to get the first-hand insider information on the automotive industry and talk about things in the automotive circle. Welcome to break the news! WeChat ID autoWechat