Responding to Changing Markets
Ford has been monitoring and responding to several key market trends, including the following:
An increasing demand for mobility in the developing world:
As developing countries gain economic momentum, their citizens are seeking levels of personal mobility long enjoyed by people in the developed world. This increase in personal mobility poses both opportunities and challenges. Studies show that most of the future growth in the automotive sector will be in developing countries. Therefore, these markets represent a significant business opportunity for Ford. At the same time, however, there are significant economic and cultural differences between our North American and European customer base and our customers in developing markets. We are developing new products, services and business models to effectively and profitably meet the mobility needs of developing market consumers. Also, if developing countries adopt the same approaches to personal mobility as developed countries have, it will further strain environmental and social systems. We are working to deepen our understanding of all of these challenges and opportunities and to develop sustainable mobility solutions for all of our global customers.
An increasing demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles and cleaner technologies and fuels: Fuel prices have risen sharply and become more volatile. The public is increasingly concerned about the linked issues of global climate change, energy security and fuel economy. As a result, consumers are demanding more fuel-efficient vehicles, cleaner vehicle technologies and cleaner-burning, domestically available fuels. In addition, consumers are including ethical considerations in their purchase decisions. Ford is responding to these trends by developing and introducing products that are more fuel efficient and environmentally and socially beneficial, without sacrificing performance, style or affordability. We are also developing and implementing new vehicle technologies and fuel options, including hybrid vehicles and ethanol-ready Flexifuel vehicles. And we are developing new ways to communicate with consumers about their environmental and social concerns and our responses to those concerns.
Increasing competition and speed of innovation: The automotive market is becoming increasingly competitive, with new and existing competitors introducing new products and innovations faster than ever. Ford is responding by realigning all of our capabilities to deliver customer-focused innovations in design, safety and sustainability. We are also continuously improving our product development and quality systems to deliver ever-better products, faster.
Assessing Materiality
Our materiality analysis revealed that these trends are important to the Company and stakeholders alike. Specifically, the analysis identified our response to climate change and the demand for better fuel economy, cleaner technologies and cleaner fuels, as well as our mobility and emerging markets strategies, as issues of importance.
Our "key topic" focus in this section of the report is mobility strategies for emerging markets, in response to the growing importance of this issue in the materiality analysis. The discussion of this issue includes our product and service strategies for emerging markets, and our role in emerging markets. These issues are of growing interest to both the Company and our stakeholders, and they were rated as areas of high and mid level for Company influence respectively. This increase in materiality was largely driven by increasing concerns over congestion, shifting demographics, urbanization and social equity; a high level of stakeholder concern over access to mobility; and Ford's own vision for mobility in emerging markets.
