Editor’s guide: Can the new generation of Forys help Changan Ford regain its former style in the A-class family car market?
With Ford Europe’s announcement of the suspension of Mondeo’s sales, coupled with the previous plan to cancel most of its car business for the North American market. In essence, Ford has shifted its focus of future products to the development of SUVs, pickup trucks, commercial vehicles and new energy vehicles. However, compared with the European and American markets, the Chinese market still has its own particularities. Car products still occupy a large market share in the Chinese auto market, especially the A-class car market, which is still a piece of cake that cannot be given up for major auto companies.
As a special model designed specifically for the Chinese market, Friesland has shouldered the responsibility of supporting brand sales when Changan Ford was at its lowest point. In 2017, Furuisi created a monthly sales peak of 35,400 vehicles. However, after entering 2018, Furuisi’s sales began to gradually decline. This year coincided with the launch of a facelifted model by Fu Ruisi. The limited product power upgrades of the facelifted Ferriss, coupled with the strong iterations of rivals, are the main reasons for the continued decline in sales of Changan Ford Ferriss. In the 80,000-120,000 yuan market, Dongfeng Nissan Sylphy’s product strength is far ahead. Compared with products such as Yidong PLUS of the same level, Furuisi can’t find cheapness in terms of design, space, power, configuration or price, and it is inevitable that sales will decline. Another key factor that contributed to the decline in sales of Fraise is that Changan Ford has equipped the entire series of Fraise with a three-cylinder engine. Under the circumstances at the time, the entire market was extremely repulsive to three-cylinder engines. This is also one of the reasons why the new generation of Ford Focus has lost its sales during the same period. Now, as Changan Ford’s sales pick up, it will again compete in the A-class sedan market. On April 12, Changan Ford’s new generation of Forys announced the opening of pre-sales. The pre-sale price of the diamond version is 105,800 yuan, which will be officially unveiled at the 2021 Shanghai Auto Show. Can the new generation of Forys help Changan Ford regain its former style in the A-class sedan market? In terms of appearance, the new generation of Changan Ford Firefly adopts a completely localized design. The design elements of the entire front face are taken from Changan Ford Sharp World PLUS, which looks very grand and stylish. On the car side, the proportions of the new car’s body are handled very harmoniously. At the rear of the car, the new generation of Frost adopts a modified 3D taillight design, which is very recognizable. On the whole, the new generation of Forex’s style is still in line with the aesthetics of the current Chinese market, thanks to the efforts of Ford’s local Chinese design team. As for the interior part, as an economical A-class car, the new generation of Frost has obvious upgrades in the interior. The whole interior is more textured in terms of materials and workmanship, and the design is also very simple. High-end models are also equipped with integrated 10.25-inch dual large screens, and the car-machine system supports functions such as navigation, multimedia, and Internet of Vehicles. In terms of safety configuration, there are 6 airbags/air curtains and other configurations. In this price range, the new generation of Forex’s configuration level is good. In terms of size, the body measurements of the new-generation Changan Ford Firefly are: 4633/1825/1490mm, and the wheelbase is 2687mm. Compared with the previous generation of Floyd (4587/1825/1490mm, wheelbase of 2687mm), the wheelbase of the new generation of Floyd has not changed, only the length of the car has been lengthened. Inferring from this, the new generation of Forex is expected to be built on the platform of the previous model. For the power part, the new generation of Changan Ford Fireworks will continue to be equipped with a 1.5L three-cylinder naturally aspirated engine with a maximum power output of 122 horsepower and a peak torque of 152 Nm. It is matched with a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed automatic manual transmission. Compared with the old version of Friesland, the power calibration of the new generation of Friesland has not changed. On the whole, the new generation of Changan Ford Fireworks has obvious upgrades in design and configuration, and its shortcomings may be mainly concentrated in the two parts of space and power. In particular, the strategy of continuing to use the three-cylinder engine is perhaps the most difficult problem that the new generation of Forex needs to overcome. Although major manufacturers have adopted three-cylinder engines due to the pressure of stricter emission regulations, from the perspective of consumers, three-cylinder engines are still unacceptable products. Since there are still models with four-cylinder engines at the same level to choose from, three-cylinder engines must be the one to be rejected. As an economical A-class sedan, the new generation of Changan Ford Ford Focus wants to return to its former peak of sales, and it may fight against Nissan Sylphy and Changan Yidong PLUS. The final decisive factor may be price. If there are surprises in the pricing, would you consider the new generation of Fruis? Since 2021, Changan Ford’s sales have shown signs of picking up. Its cumulative sales in the first quarter of this year reached 49,325, a year-on-year increase of nearly 50%. However, the driving force for the increase in sales of Changan Ford is mainly concentrated on SUV models. Ruiji, Ruijie PLUS, and the sixth-generation Ford Explorer are the current eukaryotes of Changan Ford. Original author: He Wei Editor: He Wei
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