Ford’s new global product strategy will see the company deliver cars that share sheet metal and interior designs to markets across the world. In a report from Automotive News, Ford’s newly appointed global car boss, Derrick Kuzak, has commented that the cars won’t be identical copies but “will have a different front end for North America than for China, for example," and that "the vehicles will be tuned and designed to the specific market."

Ford’s first global vehicle will be a B-segment car, which is currently in development, and will be sold in markets as varied as North America, China, Europe and South America. Expected to arrive sometime in 2009, the new car will have common mechanical underpinnings and similar interior appointments.

Kuzak doesn’t want to label the vehicle a “world car” because the term may conjure up images of Ford’s dismal attempt at introducing the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique, which were based on the European Mondeo, in the US.

Ford’s European division has already enjoyed success with platform sharing in the form of its versatile C1 small-car architecture. The C1 platform has been used in cars such as the European Ford Focus, Mazda3 and Volvo S40, so Ford might just be able to continue the success with even more vehicles. We just hope the new cars don’t all start looking like the new Five Hundred sedan.