Quote:
Nope,
1996 Ford lost the sedan title to Toyota (then Honda, Nissan, GM...and now they are out of it)
2014 Ford lost the compact suv title to Toyota (and then Honda, Nissan and GM...with Jeep knocking on the door to take on the 5th spot)
2019 Ford is poised to lose the mid size SUV title to Toyota
See the trend?!
When I see your post, I see an automobile company that innovate and is a pioneer in some markets and, after that, another companys get to claim their part of the market. And that market need to be distributed in many parts (americans, europeans, japaneses, koreans...).
1996. The Ford Taurus, that in 1986 made a revolution in the midsize sedan segment , suffers the consequences of the competition that is updated in this segment. More and better designed sedans flooded this market.
2014. The Ford Escape, that born in 2000 as an innovative new type of compact crossover , faces the competition of tens of compacts crossovers from America, Europe, Japan and Korea. In 2020 it will be prepared , better than ever, to compete in this field.
2019. The Explorer, the very first succesfull midsize SUV, face a fierce competition in this market and get a different aproach to convince customers: RWD platform, upmarket amenities, powerfull powerplants, high tech equipment, higher price. Of course, will sell less units, but with higher profits for Ford.
And you forgot another segment, the big luxury SUV , wich was invented (if you dont count the Range Rover, which is actually a medium-sized luxury SUV of another type) by Lincoln with the Navigator in 1998. This very first big Luxury SUV was followed by similars from GMC, Cadillac, europeans and japaneses brands, that take their part of this new market. Today, the Navigator is doing a new revolution ( with umprecedent interior design and quality and powerfull advanced powerplants) in this market and gaining new customers.