Ford Asia Pacific and Africa: Vehicle Safety

Ford remains a global leader in vehicle safety. We aim to give customers peace of mind and make the world safer by developing advanced safety technologies and making them available across a wide range of vehicles.

The Ford Fiesta is the first car in its segment to earn top crash test ratings in each of the world’s largest auto markets that perform safety testing – i.e., the U.S., China, ASEAN¹ and Europe. The Ford Focus and the Ford Mondeo also have received five-star ratings in C-NCAP testing in China. And, the Ford Kuga earned a five-star ANCAP rating in Australia.

We have developed an array of programs and technologies that help to encourage safer behavior on the roadways for both experienced and novice drivers. For example, Ford Driving Skills for Life (DSFL), Ford’s driver education program, demonstrates our commitment to help new drivers to improve their motoring skills. For Asia Pacific and Africa, the Ford DSFL program was customized to address the higher average age of beginner drivers in the region, as well as the unique driving environments within each market. The program also places equal emphasis on safe driving and eco-driving, as customers in the region are interested in both.

Ford launched the DSFL program in Asia Pacific and Africa in 2008 with a “train-the-trainers” workshop in Bangkok, Thailand. At the workshop, professionals from Germany trained representatives from the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia. In 2009 and 2010, we held train-the-trainers workshops in Shanghai, China, and Chennai, India, and continued with the successful roll-out of the program to mainland China, Taiwan, India and South Africa.

In 2012, Ford DSFL trained 13,500 licensed drivers in Asia in mainland China, India, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and South Africa. We expect to train another 14,000 in 2013. More than 63,000 people have been trained in the Asia Pacific and Africa region since the program began.

The Ford DSFL training addresses the local driving environment and specific needs of drivers in each Asian market. In China, for example, Ford DSFL added a segment on the use of child safety seats after a new regulation went into effect there. In Indonesia, Thailand and several other Asia countries, sessions were added tailored for female drivers. In Vietnam, Ford DSFL launched a “No Honking” campaign to reduce the adverse effects on road safety of the prevalent and inappropriate use of vehicle horns. Ford DSFL also launched campaigns in India and China inviting drivers to “pledge to drive safe;” this campaign will expand into more countries in 2013.

See the Vehicle Safety and Driver Assist Technologies section for more on our vehicle safety technologies and activities.

Trained 13,500 licensed drivers in Asia