Bill Ford Jr.: For Auto Makers, China is the New Frontier
NANJING, China -- Three days after Ford Motor Co. reported its worst quarterly results in 14 years, mainly because of ailing U.S. operations, company Chairman Bill Ford Jr. arrived here for a glimpse of what he believes will be the auto maker's future.
On the outskirts of this city in eastern China, 7,000 miles from the company's headquarters in Dearborn, Mich., Ford is finishing work on two sprawling new factories, one to make engines, the other to assemble cars. The facilities are a collaboration with Japanese partner Mazda Motor Corp. and Changan Automobile Group of China. Production, initially for the fast-growing China market, is set to start next year. Ford also has plants in Chongqing in western China and in Thailand. In addition, the company is opening a new research-and-development center in Australia and mulling expanded production in India.
Ford's ambitious growth plans for Asia stand in stark contrast to the painful retreat underway in its home market in North America. Ford last month said it will accelerate plans to cut nearly 58,000 jobs in the U.S. and Canada -- about 40% of the total on the payroll at the end of 2005. As it shrinks to fit its diminished U.S. market share, Ford says it will shutter nine factories in North America by the end of 2008, and another seven factories by the end of 2012.
Once, awed executives of Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. toured Ford's massive Rouge factory near Dearborn hoping to learn how to match Ford's manufacturing prowess. When the dust settles from its latest restructuring, Ford could sell fewer vehicles in the U.S. than Toyota.
In his first extended comments since he named Alan Mulally, a former top executive at Boeing Co., to succeed him as Ford's chief executive, Mr. Ford said the auto maker's long-term health depends on building more cars and buying more components outside the U.S. "It's a tough industry and it's changing," he said in an interview on a plane ride over China on his way to the plants. "Things have gone global almost over night."
Ford's interest in China mirrors a similar focus by General Motors Corp. and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group on Asia and other growth markets outside the U.S. Some industry observers argue that, in the future, Detroit's Big Three may have to be less American to survive. This may raise hackles with the United Auto Workers and some American politicians. But Mr. Ford and his counterparts at GM and Chrysler are increasingly open about their shift of focus.
'A LOT OF THINGS HAVE TO CHANGE'
Read excerpts of the interview with Bill Ford, including comments on the future of Jaguar, competition from Asian auto makers and goals for new CEO Mulally.
MORE ON FORD
? Ford Posts $5.8 Billion Loss, Warns of More Woes
As the ranks of the Chinese middle class swell, the country has become the world's fastest-growing major vehicle market. In the first nine months of the year, Ford's sales there have more than doubled from the same period in 2005. "There's going to be no market like China for us," said Mr. Ford, the great grandson of company founder Henry Ford.
Ford expects to buy $2.6 billion to $3 billion worth of auto parts in China this year for use in its assembly operations in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere, up sharply from $1.6 billion to $1.7 billion in 2005. Mr. Ford said he expects that upward trend to continue.
"We're barely scratching the surface in China," Mr. Ford said. He said that Ford would even consider manufacturing small cars in China for sale in the U.S. and other markets. "It's certainly possible," he said. "We don't have any plans now. But we'll look at everything."
Mr. Ford also contended that the company is on a firm footing financially and doesn't need to strike additional alliances with outside companies, such as Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co. Some analysts had speculated that Renault and Nissan would seek a deal with Ford after being spurned by GM in recent talks.
There are "great opportunities within Ford to achieve more synergies before we have to look outside," he said. "At this point we don't need to be distracted" by alliance talks. Ford, however, is forming partnerships with Chinese companies, which is a legal requirement for foreign auto makers that want to produce in China for the domestic market.
Ford's North American turnaround effort has struggled to get traction during the past year, as sales of the company's less fuel efficient but once highly profitable sport-utility vehicles and large pickups have fallen, and profits from smaller cars haven't taken up the slack. Ford lost $1.98 billion in North America during the third quarter alone and lost $56 million during the third quarter in Asia and Africa. But Mazda, which is partly-owned by Ford and a key part of the company's Asia strategy, turned in a $40 million profit. Moreover, Ford expanded its Asia-Africa market share, albeit from a low base.
The challenge for Mr. Ford will be funding growth in China and the rest of Asia while the company's legacy business in America, hobbled by rising health and pension costs and the burdens of restructuring, burns through billions in cash.
Mr. Ford said his company has the cash it needs to carry out its plans. To raise more funds, he said he expects to complete the sale of Aston Martin sometime next year and is in talks to borrow money. But he said he isn't interested in raising money from private-equity funds, something that could dilute the Ford family's holdings in the company.
The Ford chairman also poured cold water on speculation that the company might look to sell its unprofitable Jaguar unit.
"We have to fix the Jaguar business," Mr. Ford said. "The cars are great. Quality has improved. It's not a product problem. It's a business problem."
He blamed Jaguar's woes on expectations that the brand could become as big as BMW or Mercedes, and a resulting overexpansion of capacity, which continues to weigh on the unit's finances. One of Jaguar's three factories has been idled, and it will have to shrink further, Mr. Ford said. "We're in the process of doing it, but it's painful."
Mr. Ford, whose personal enthusiasm for green technology sets him apart from many of his auto-industry peers, said there may be a silver lining in Americans' shift towards smaller cars.
First, he said, it will bring the U.S. market more closely in sync with those in Europe and Asia, where drivers have long preferred smaller vehicles. That would allow Ford to share more car platforms -- basically, the guts of the vehicle: the chassis, transmission, engine, etc. -- in different markets, reaping savings on development and manufacturing costs. "Markets are homogenizing. Product-development efforts don't need to overlap as they have in the past," he said.
Secondly, U.S. consumers have traditionally bought small cars mainly because they were inexpensive; now consumers are choosing smaller vehicles because they are more fuel efficient and environmentally friendly. Such buyers want better equipped small cars than have typically been sold in the U.S., providing car companies the opportunity for wider profit margins. "There's room for revenue, even on small cars," Mr. Ford said.
Mr. Ford acknowledged it might be difficult to manufacture small cars profitably in the U.S. "We'd have to look globally. We have product-development capability around the world. Where would we build it? I don't know," he said. He added that it would be difficult to "make a healthy profit" if it was built in the U.S.
Auto-industry consultants, such as CSM, have speculated Ford would like to eventually build and export into North America a small pickup truck from Thailand or elsewhere outside the U.S.
Mr. Ford said he has faith that Ford will weather the changes transforming the industry. "This is intensely personal for me and for my family," Mr. Ford said. "We've been through good times and we've been through tough times before, and I believe we'll get through this."
放眼亚洲 寄望中国
三天前，福特汽车公司(Ford Motor)刚刚公布了14年来最惨淡的季度业绩（之所以惨淡，要归咎于其糟糕的美国国内业务）。三天后，公司董事长小比尔?福特(Bill Ford Jr.)就登上了飞往中国的航班。他此行的目的地是位于华东地区的南京，他相信，这个距离福特美国总部万里之遥的中国城市将是福特的未来之所系。
在南京城外某地，福特及其合作方日本马自达汽车(Mazda Motor Corp.)建设的两家占地庞大的新工厂已基本完工。这两家工厂一家生产发动机，一家从事组装。预计这里将于明年开工投产，初期主要针对迅速增长的中国市场。
除在中国的发展计划之外，福特还在澳大利亚成立了一家研发中心，并计划扩大在印度的产量。
福特在亚洲雄心勃勃的发展计划与其在北美市场的悲惨处境形成了鲜明对比。该公司上个月表示，将加速实施在美国和加拿大的裁员计划，预计裁员总数接近58,000人，约占2005年底北美在册雇员总数的40%。
福特表示，因北美市场份额下降，公司在裁员的同时还将关闭该地区的部分工厂，到2008年底之前，将关闭9家工厂，到2012年底再关闭7家。
曾几何时，对福特满怀敬畏的丰田汽车(Toyota Motor)管理人士在其巨无霸般的Rouge工厂里流连忘返，希望学习福特的经验，以便有朝一日与其平起平坐。而在最近一系列重组计划尘埃落定之后，福特在自己国家的汽车销量已经落后于丰田。
比尔?福特在飞往工厂所在地的途中接受了记者的采访。这位福特公司创始人亨利?福特(Henry Ford)的曾孙表示，要实现增长，公司必须到海外寻找机会，除此别无选择。
这是福特自九月初任命原波音高管艾伦?穆拉利(Alan Mulally)接替自己的首席执行长职位之后第一次发表长篇讲话。他表示，要维持公司的长期健康发展，福特必须在本土之外提高汽车产量、增加零配件采购量。
他说：未来十年，全球汽车产量的增长将有百分之九十来自亚洲。我们正基于这一预期制定对策。
福特对中国市场表现出的兴趣在通用汽车(General Motors)和戴姆勒克莱斯勒(DaimlerChrysler AG)身上同样可以见到，他们对亚洲及其他美国以外正在增长的市场都关注有加。为维持生存，底特律这“三巨头”将不得不收缩规模、并提高非美国业务的比例。这么做或许会惹怒美国汽车业工会(United Auto Workers)和国内的一些政治家。但是，福特及通用和克莱斯勒管理层对这种不得不为之的重点转移越来越坦率。
福特计划今年为其在美国、欧洲及其他地区的装配厂在中国采购价值26亿-30亿美元的零配件。他们去年在中国的采购额是16亿-17亿美元。福特表示，他认为未来在中国的采购量还将继续增长。
我们在中国的事业才刚刚开始。他说，福特甚至还有可能在中国生产供应美国及其他市场的微型轿车。“这当然是有可能的，”他说，“现在我们还没有具体计划。但我们会考虑各种可能性。”
福特还表示，公司财务基础稳健，不需要与其他公司再建立更多的联盟。华尔街曾猜测，法国雷诺(Renault SA)和日本日产(Nissan Motor Co.)在试图与通用建立合作而遭后者回绝后可能会转向福特。
福特说，公司目前不需要从外部寻找增长机会，公司内部仍有大量实现更大协同效应的空间。他说，福特目前不需要为进行结盟谈判而分心。
由于一度盈利可观但耗油量偏高的SUV（运动型多用途车）和大型皮卡出现销售下滑，福特公司为扭转北美业务疲弱局面而采取的努力一直未能收到显着成效。中小型车的利润还不能弥补大型车业务造成的亏空。
三季度，福特北美业务亏损19.8亿美元，亚洲和非洲业务合计亏损5,600万美元。而马自达汽车盈利4,000万美元。不过，福特在亚洲和非洲的市场占有率在原来较低的基础上有所上升。
福特面临的难题是，其北美公司因医疗保健和退休福利成本上升和重组需要大量开支而严重失血，支出高达数十亿美元，在这种情况下，如何来为其在中国的增长输入资金呢？
福特曾预计，今年将在汽车业务上支出近70亿美元，本季度其现金储备将减少36亿美元。如果按照这个速度，福特截至9月30日持有的236亿美元现金储备将在不到两年的时间里被耗光。
不过福特表示，公司有完成计划所需要的资金。他说，为筹集更多资金，他计划明年年底之前完成出售Aston Martin子公司的业务，并且，他们也在寻找融资渠道。不过他指出，对通过股权投资公司融资不感兴趣，这样做可能会影响福特家族在公司的持股。
福特还给传言福特将出售亏损的Jaguar子公司的人泼了冷水。他说，我们肯定要改善Jaguar的业务。它的车很棒，质量也有改善。它的问题不再产品上，是经营方面的问题。
他认为，Jaguar之所以遭遇困境，是因为人们期待它能成为像宝马或奔驰那样的大品牌，导致其产能扩张过度，这进一步给Jaguar的财务带来了压力。现在，Jaguar有些工厂已停产，今后还要进一步收缩产能。他说，我们正在逐步进行这一过程。不过，这么做很痛苦。
由于汽油涨价，福特的SUV在美国的销售出现了下滑。但是福特表示，随着美国消费者将目光转向中小型车，这也将给福特的业务带来一线希望。
他说，首先，这将使美国市场与偏爱中小车型的欧洲和亚洲市场更同步。这样，福特在不同市场上可以共享同样的制造平台，在研发和制造成本上都能有所节省。
他说，市场正在逐渐同质化，现在的产品开发不需要再像过去那样有大量重复交叉现象。
其次，美国人现在希望购买的小型车可能会与以往不同。以前美国人买小型车主要是因为便宜，他们一旦有了足够的钱就会换大车。而现在人们选择小型车则是出于节能和环保的考虑。
现在的买家希望买到比传统型小型车性能更好的车型。这就给汽车厂家提供了更大的利润空间。他说，即使是小型车也有收入增长空间。
福特的一些竞争对手已先其一步意识到了消费者品位的这种变化。在美国市场，已有多家外国公司的小型车品牌获得了成功，如宝马的Mini Cooper、丰田的Yaris和Scion xB以及本田汽车(Honda Motor)的Fit。
戴姆勒克莱斯勒正在与中国的奇瑞汽车(Chery Automobile Co.)就在华成立合资公司进行谈判，他们计划在中国用道奇品牌生产紧凑型车，供应全球市场。据知情人士说，谈判已进入后期阶段。戴姆勒克莱斯勒表示，它还在与其他潜在合作方进行谈判。
福特承认，在美国生产小型车可能有难度，公司正在考虑以何种方式向美国市场供应小型车。他说：我们必须放眼全球。我们在世界各地都有产品开发能力。应该在哪里生产小型车？现在我还没想好。他说，在美国生产很难实现可观的利润。
福特表示，他相信福特能安然度过整个行业正在经历的变化。“这在很大程度上也是对我和我家族的考验，”他说，“以前我们有过好日子，也经历过困难时期。相信这一次我们仍能顺利度过难关。”
Gordon Fairclough
