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Future of Ford’s global vehicle development

Ralph Hanson

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2,098 views Jul 2, 2007

Future of Ford’s global vehicle development

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In a push to streamline the number of platforms it uses and at the same time save costs, Ford will develop its future models using a single global engineering team. The first car to be spawned from the new program will be the next Fiesta, which the carmaker’s development Chief Derrick Kuzak said, in an interview with Automotive News, will be instantly recognizable around the world as a Ford.

The Fiesta will sit in the B-car segment and is being designed for all global markets. The cars will be tuned differently for specific markets and there will be some basic design changes, but the front of the car, windshield and A-pillars, will be common. US for instance would get a sedan, while Europe would get a five-door hatch. There could be even more bodystyles for other markets.

Most of the design is currently handled by groups in the US and Europe, however, there’s an increase in input coming from South America and Australia and we’ll see their influence a great deal more in the future. Global vehicle development is here to stay says Kuzak. It is a design template that Ford will replicate for other new models.