The all-new Ford Taurus was designed to be a sales success for the Blue Oval – replace the four-door sedan of the same name that never caught on with consumers – but a flawed product mix is preventing any big sales numbers.
Ford expected most 2010 Taurus buyers to go for the SE or Limited trim levels, but has experienced a higher-than-expected demand for SEL and SHO models. Ford’s production schedule was skewed towards the less popular model, leaving more of the less desirable Taurus models sitting on dealers’ lots.
“It’s a problem for our dealers,” Jim Farley, Ford ’s group vice president of global marketing, told Automotive News.
“If you don’t call it, you miss that opportunity and customers don’t see what they want to buy,” Farley said of the Taurus’ current product mix.
Through November, Ford has sold 38,361 Taurus sedans, down 22 percent from the same period in 2008 which was one of the worst for new car sales on record. The Taurus went on sale in August.
Ford is working to correct the problem, but the improved market mix is likely still months from arriving at dealers. Ford says it is taking advanced steps to better align market demand with the correct mix of models and trim levels and has already begun forecasting the right mix of Ford Fiesta models. The Fiesta is slated to hit the market next summer.
