Ford of Europe boss issues rallying call

Stephen Odell issues ‘wide-ranging call to enable car manufacturers to flourish’

Ford of Europe CEO, Stephen Odell, has issued a “wide-ranging call to [European] politicians, business leaders, academics and regulators to create market conditions that enable manufacturers to flourish.”

Speaking at the Future Manufacturing summit at Cranfield University, Odell warned that without help from policy makers, the European car industry would continue to struggle, on the back of total European car sales being down 22 per cent in the past five years.

Odell added that current EU regulations “make an average car approximately twice as expensive as it otherwise would be.”

However, Odell stopped short of directly attacking any single piece of legislation, nor mentioned exactly the factors to blame for ramping up prices, but did criticise European free trade agreements with South Korea, and did state that Europe should follow the US’s example in order to help boost the car market:

“We expect Europe’s volume carmakers, preferably encouraged and aided by Brussels, to follow the hugely successful American example and do what everybody knows needs to be done: to restructure, to cut excess manufacturing capacity, to reinvigorate their product ranges. And to develop industry-leading technology for the world.”

Odell did re-emphasise Ford’s commitment to launch more than 15 vehicles in Europe in the next five years, most powered by British-made engines; and did say that “he was confident European and UK manufacturing could survive under the right business conditions.”

He also vowed that Ford of Europe’s restructuring efforts – regardless of any political intervention – would deliver “sustainable profit margins of 6-8 per cent in the medium term.

Cars

Tuesday, 21 May 2013