Ford Motor Company is
one of the most symbolic for the automotive industry, especially in the US
market. It went public on July 9, in 1919 and along with its subsidiaries has
diversified its portfolio over the years. The two main segments for company
operations are the automotive manufacturing and the Financing services. Some of
the US giant’s subsidiaries are names like Ford North America, Ford Europe and
Ford Asia. In the sphere of finance, the main name is Ford Motor Credit Company
and Other Services. With a first mover advantage, dating from almost a hundred
years, Ford produces and sells vehicles in six continents, with its all-famous
brands Ford and Lincoln. The last
addition to Ford’s portfolio was a company named Livio, which is in the
software business.
The main emphasis of
the international operations is but on Ford North America and the retail and
wholesale providing of all Ford and Lincoln brand vehicles, as well as services
such as maintenance and provision of spare parts. The European operations of
the US giant are focused mainly on the Ford brand, and there is little evidence
that the management will pursue introduction of more brands to the mature
market. However, the sale of parts and accessories is one of the most lucrative
segments of the company’s international business, providing them in Europe,
Turkey, Asia and Africa. It has also targeted some of the developing markets,
shifting its resources towards Argentina, Chile, Ecuador and Venezuela. All of
those parts and accessories are flowing through the wholesale and retail
structures in North America and through a private network for outside
operations. The European market, which is the second most lucrative for the
company, is targeted mostly in the countries of the European Union, with
Austria, UK, France, Germany and Norway being the main ones.
The company’s stock
performed very controversially over the last year. In comparison to the initial
price of $14 it managed to keep a growth up to $15, counting the last Ford
Motor Company quote. However, in the course of the last 12 months the US giant
experienced a lot of fluctuation in its value. They were mostly seasonal, with
the highest threshold reached in November - $17.60. The lowest one was in February, 2014,
amounting to $14.20. As you can see there are somewhat dramatic fluctuations,
which has caused a lot of speculation amongst investors. Today the price is in
almost the precise middle, which has raised a lot of theories about the company’s
future. Booming performance in the Asian market has given a lot of hope for
existing shareholders and stabilized the price over the last months.
In India alone Ford
reported an 83% increase in sales, amounting up to 13 297 vehicles,
compared to the 7270 units of the same period last year. Domestic sales were
6651 in April, which was also a considerable amount above the last year’s
4 000 vehicles and the exports were almost twofold, with 6646 cars in
comparison to the benchmark of 3267.
Furthermore, in April
2014, was the introduction of the Ford Endeavor – the newest addition to the
SUV line of the company. It can be seen that the company is starting to target
other types of audiences, with most of the features of the car concentrated
towards off-road terrain. It very effective for undeveloped infrastructure such
as the one in India. Public opinion is that the company is considering focusing
more resources towards the east, providing lower-cost, higher reliability cars
in correspondence to local market conditions.
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