Ford Fiesta rental car
Photograph ©2015 by Brian Cohen.

Renting a Ford Car to Become Increasingly Difficult in North America

If you plan on renting a car in North America starting two years from now, chances are it will not be manufactured by Ford Motor Company, as only two cars will be available by the automobile manufacturer.

Renting a Ford Car to Become Increasingly Difficult in North America

According to this press release document from its 2018 first quarter financial results which were released on Wednesday, April 25, 2018, part of a statement from Ford Motor Company included that “…by 2020, almost 90 percent of the Ford portfolio in North America will be trucks, utilities and commercial vehicles. Given declining consumer demand and product profitability, the company will not invest in next generations of traditional Ford sedans for North America. Over the next few years, the Ford car portfolio in North America will transition to two vehicles — the best-selling Mustang and the all-new Focus Active crossover coming out next year.”

No longer will you be able to rent cars such as a Fiesta, Fusion or Taurus in the future; but you should still be able to rent cars built by Ford outside of North America, as they should remain unaffected by this decision.

Ford Motor Company was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on Tuesday, June 16, 1903 — and not even a year has elapsed since Jim Hackett took over at the helm as chief executive officer upon arriving at the decision that this will be the first time in 115 years of history that the carmaker will only be selling two models of cars in North America.

Summary

I have heard some people claim that fierce competition from Japanese, Korean and German automakers are what contributed to the “declining consumer demand and product profitability” for cars built by Ford Motor Company. I have also heard some people say that concentrating on sport utility vehicles and trucks will put the automaker at a disadvantage when fuel prices increase, as is currently happening.

I am not so sure about that. Ford Motor Company has imported cars which were built overseas in the past; and they could possibly increase the number of cars imported from elsewhere in the world which are needed to be sold in North America.

Initially discontinued in 2004 and revived in 2007, the Ford Taurus was once the best-selling car in the United States — most notably, in the mid-1990s — only to die yet again.

Still others believe that General Motors will capitalize on this decision and swoop in to the former Ford customer base to increase overall market share in North America.

One can only imagine what Henry Ford would think of the company which he founded upon learning of this news…

Photograph ©2015 by Brian Cohen.

  1. Basically, Ford is no longer going to sell cars in the US (except the Mustang and a mainland China built crossover). That is terrible. Chrysler is already there, selling no cars except the Chrysler 300.

    If you want a car and not a SUV, you have to buy GM or imported brands.

    This will start a downward spiral because now Ford Europe cannot spread the cost of developing its Ford Mondeo, which looks very similar to the Ford Fusion. When gas becomes $5 temporarily, that will hit pick up truck sales and we could see Ford die.

    I drive a car. I don’t like driving a truck or SUV.

    1. I agree with you, derek.

      Also important to note is that Chrysler has been shuffled from one owner to another and never really got its footing to returning to being the automobile manufacturer it once was…

  2. ERROR-but you should still be able to rent cars built by Ford outside of North America, as they should remain unaffected by this decision.
    —-
    No, Ford is not selling any car in the US, imported or US built.

    Of course, they could try again in 2025 but it would take a lot of effort to modify a European Ford into one that passes US standards. US and European standards are different. Not one better than the other, just different.

    1. This is one of those moments where written English could have more than one meaning, derek.

      I realize the way I wrote that sentence can imply that “you should still be able to rent cars in the United States built by Ford outside of North America, as they should remain unaffected by this decision”; but what I actually meant was that if you are physically outside of the United States and you want to rent a car manufactured by Ford, you should still be able to do so.

      Please accept my apologies, as I should have constructed that sentence in a way that I would have conveyed what I meant to say more clearly.

  3. I’ve been a lifelong Ford customer, but that will be changing for me, as I don’t drive trucks or suv’s. Guess I will have to give Chevy a try. Even if I eventually decide to get a truck or suv, it won’t be from Ford as they no longer deserve my money. Time will tell if this comes back to bite them. GM has got to be loving this.

    1. …as do Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai, Kia, Volkswagen and other manufacturers of coupes and sedans which competed with the likes of the Ford Fusion and Ford Taurus, Scott.

      The good news is that American cars have generally been more reliable than in the past; so barring a technical defect or recall, a Chevrolet should not be a bad choice for you.

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