Ford South America
Financial Health
Ford experienced strong sales and growth in many of our regional markets in 2011. In South America we sold 506,000 units, a 3 percent increase from 2010. The increase in this rapidly growing market represents a significant achievement for our Company.
Ford’s 2011 market share for our South America region was 9.3 percent, down 0.5 percentage points from 2010. Brazil and Argentina are our highest-volume South American markets, and our market shares for these two countries are shown in the table below.
South American Market Share
| Major Markets | 2011 Combined Car and Truck Market Share | Percentage Points Better/(Worse) than 2010 |
|---|---|---|
| Total South America | 9.3% | (0.5)% |
| Brazil | 9.8% | (0.6)% |
| Argentina | 12.9% | 0.5% |
Going forward, we are making our largest-ever five-year investment in our Brazil operations, committing R$4.5 billion from 2011 to 2015 to accelerate the delivery of more fuel-efficient, high-quality vehicles. We also announced an investment of R$800 million to produce a new global vehicle in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil. And, we announced an R$500 million investment in our engine and transmission plant in Taubaté, Brazil for continued expansion of production capacity. Our Pacheco plant celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2011 and the production of 2.5 million units, and at the same time announced the investment of a new engine plant to equip the all-new Ford Ranger in 2012.
Ford also made several exciting product announcements in South America in 2011:
- Ford Ka, the sales leader among compact three-door hatches in Brazil, recently reached a milestone of 750,000 units manufactured in that country.
- Since February 2011, Brazilian consumers have been able to purchase the 2011 Ford Ranger Sport version, which has undergone a design, convenience and comfort update.
- In March 2011, 400 distributors and 150 journalists from Brazil, Argentina and Chile met at the Cumbuco beach in Ceará, Brazil, for the launch of our new Cargo Euro 5 truck line. The 2012 Cargo Euro 5 lineup will include 11 models with a regular cab and five with the sleeper cab option. These completely new models are unmatched in design, quality, comfort, performance, functionality, versatility and competitive prices.
- Ford Venezuela launched the all-new Ford Explorer; they are the only Ford assembly operation outside of the U.S. to produce this vehicle. They also launched the Ford F-250 Super Cab and introduced a Ford F-350 that runs on natural gas (CNG), with unique engineering and in full compliance with government regulations.
- Ford launched its all-new Ford Fiesta in Argentina.
- At the Buenos Aires Autoshow, Ford showed the all-new Ford Ranger, our first global pick-up.
By 2013, Ford South America will offer versions of our global small and midsize vehicles, including Fiesta- and Focus-sized small cars and utilities, Fusion- and Mondeo-sized midsize cars and utilities, compact pickups and commercial vans.
We know that our long-term success in the developing and revitalizing economies of South America will depend on our offering new types of mobility solutions that are increasingly sustainable and tailored to the unique needs of these markets. The section on our sustainable mobility strategy describes how we are aiming to do just that.
For a discussion of our global economic impact and financial health, please see the Financial Health section.