Responding to Changing Customer Needs

If consumer wants and needs were static, we would still be making Model Ts. But in fact they are changing faster than ever, keeping pace with the rate of technological change. We are tracking trends in changing consumer demands and developing product offerings to meet them. For example, we are tracking and responding to consumer demands for more fuel-efficient vehicle options, which have been spurred by record-high oil prices and concerns about energy security and climate change. We are also addressing the developing consumer interest in what we call "ethical consumption," or consumers' increasing desire to buy products from companies that reflect their environmental and social values. We are also addressing consumers' growing interest in the latest innovations in communications, convenience and other technologies.

To meet these changing consumer demands, we are re-aligning our capabilities to deliver customer-focused, real-world innovations faster and more effectively than ever before.