AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR OF FORD MOTORS IN ASSOCIATION WITH HIMATSINGKA FORD, GUWAHATI (Pages 66-93) by Dr. K. C. Biswal in THE INTERNATIONAL MANAGER / ISSN: 2348-9413 (Online); 2348-9405 (Print)

Ford Motor Company faces many strategic challenges during these volatile economic times. In the next month and a half, two of its major competitors may be forced to file for bankruptcy or liquidate assets. As of this writing, Ford is the most financially sound American car manufacturer and possesses enough cash on hand to continue operations through fiscal year 2009, provided there are no further dramatic deteriorations in the market. Analysts believe that the company will not need to seek government funding unless car sell for 2010 are below 12 million. While Ford, like all major car companies at this time, faces serious challenges, we assert that opportunities exist during any time of crisis. We believe that Ford can, with our help; break even in fiscal year 2010 bearing further macroeconomic deterioration. This report makes the following recommendations to Ford Motor Company: 1) Ford should continue attempts to sell off the Volvo brand. The funds from this sale should provide Ford with increased flexibility during the coming year as well as contribute to existing strategic goals. 2) Ford should extensively prepare for the bankruptcy of Chrysler and or/ General Motors. Such bankruptcy pose a great deal of risk to Ford, including but not limited to: the possibility that the government may choose a winner, the potential for General Motors to emerge from bankruptcy with a significant cost advantage, and supply chain disruption resulting from bankruptcies of mutual suppliers. While we believe that any liquidation of Chrysler should be viewed as a strategic opportunity, we remain deeply concerned about how the future of GM impact Ford. In the short term, we believe that Ford should continue to capitalize on its competitor’s instability and steal market share. 3) We have faith in Management’s ‘One Ford’ strategy and believe that the Ford Fiesta is poised for success in North America, if marketed correctly and executed properly. Continued differentiation through the creation of defining style and feature set exclusive to Ford vehicles is also a positive step in the long.