Ford is to close down its operations in Japan and Indonesia and withdraw from the markets.
The US giant will shut its Japanese dealerships and stop selling the Focus, Fiesta and Ford Mustang by the end of this year. The brand also offered the Ecosport, Kuga and Explorer SUVs through its dealers.
Ford also sold two Lincoln models in Japan - the Navigator and MKX SUVs - which will also be withdrawn from the local market.
Ford has had a retail presence in Japan since 1974 but according to Reuters it only managed to sell 5000 cars in 2015, a tiny share of the country’s new-car market. It is thought about 52 dealerships will close and 300 people will be made redundant.
Ford’s Indonesian presence is also being wound up this year. A Ford spokesman was quoted as saying there was no "reasonable path to profitability" for the company’s operation in that country.
Ford imported cars into Indonesia and could not compete with established Japanese brands that have factories in the country, according to sources.
In a statement published on the Ford Indonesia website, local MD Bagus Susanto says: "Today we have announced a difficult business decision to withdraw from all our operations in Indonesia in the second half of this year. This includes closing Ford dealerships and stopping the official sale and import of all Ford vehicles."
Susanto says Ford dealers will remain open until "sometime" in 2017 before the brand’s warranty and repair responsibilities are handed over to a third party.
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Ford not always all conquering
Not only the Jazz
Say what you want about the Vios and City, they have been engineered specifically for the developing market and are doing extremely well. Don't have the latest fancy pancy tech but they are reliable. They offer space with technology in the places where it that matters most. I.e. the drivetrain.
If you are not getting a Fiesta ST, why bother.
Then back to my original comment
Fiesta has to complete with the Yaris, Jazz and Mazda 2 in Europe too and it beats them hands down so why the reverse in Japan?
xxxx wrote: Camoron wrote:
So how many times do you need to post this ? Do you work for Ford !!!
Sorry but don't work for Ford either
It was a simple question to start of with but 2 people got on their high horse and said with no evidence how unreliable the Fiesta was and that Ford saleman were P*****. No (I've been accused of working for GM, Audi, Telsa and Mitsubishi before but never Ford). p.s. the Fiesta outsells the Mazda 2 by about 9:1 in Europe despite being near the end of its model life cycle.
Turning Japanese
It doesn't beat them hands down in Europe either, except in Autocar articles (and possibly other magazines I don't read). I've driven a Fiesta and a Yaris, and the Yaris was far and away the better car. Better interior, better built, better to drive. It offered far more fun on the quiet, narrow roads in the Highlands, while the Fiesta felt heavy and unwieldy. For some reason many British folk seem to think of Fords as British cars, rather than American, so I suppose that is why they buy them. And I daresay some are swayed by the sycophantic write-ups they get in Autocar.
Ford was selling the Kuga,
Big cars where Kei cars are king.