Though it already has the most vivid TV and print presence among Detroit’s Big Three, Ford says that it is planning to spend more on advertising and marketing over the next six months to promote some of its new vehicles.
GM and Toyota have also recently announced plans to spend more on advertising, though Ford marketing head Jim Farley said the Dearborn automaker’s efforts are not designed to counter their rivals.
“Our competitors are having to do this because they lost share or they’ve got to regain confidence,†Farley told Automotive News. “We’re in a completely different place in the sense that people are interested in Ford , and so our job is to educate them more.â€
The automaker also confirmed yesterday that it still plans to return to profitability within the next 18 months and that attempts to sell its Swedish unit, Volvo , are progressing.
“Absolutely, we are on plan,” CEO Alan Mulally said of the plan to return to profitability while speaking to journalists in China, where Ford is planning to build a three-way joint-venture plant with Chongqing Changan Automobile Company and Mazda .
Mulally said that talks with a Volvo buyer are under way, but he neglected to name any interested parties. China’s Geely Automotive has emerged as the rumored leader, though no official word has come from Dearborn.
