American car manufacturer Ford Motor Co. is reportedly struggling to sell its crossovers amid competitions with rivals.
According to Zhang Hui, a small car dealer from central Hunan Province, it has become harder to get Ford's Kuga crossover, despite all the additional amenities they included. "Even a 20 percent discount isn't appealing enough," Zhang remarked.
Ford introduced the Kuga in January of 2013 as one of their flagship models to break into China's lucrative crossover market. However, despite initial clamor, with buyers paying extra to get their new vehicles delivered to them quickly, the Kuga subsequently dropped in sales, experiencing an 18 percent decrease in the first half of 2016 compared to last year, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The Kuga's falling performance was attributed to the heavy competition given by local competitors who offer similar car features at relatively lower prices. For instance, Great Wall Motors Co's Haval H6, which is the top-selling SUV in China for the first seven months, sells for under $14,000, far lower than the Kuga's $29,000.
Ford's chief financial officer Robert Shanks admitted to the stiff competition, noting that local manufacturers are continuously coming out with better products. However, Shanks said that they will come back to launch new models later this year.
Ford is also continuing its pursuit of building its own autonomous vehicles, The Manila Bulletin reported. The company, along with its partner, Chinese search engine giant Baidu, is reportedly putting a $150 million investment on Velodyne LiDAR to develop next-generation sensors and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems to be used for self-driving cars.
According to Jing Wang, senior vice-president and general manager of Baidu's autonomous driving unit, the investment will help accelerate the development of such sensors for use with autonomous vehicles.
Meanwhile, Ford executive vice-president for product development and chief technical officer Raj Nair said that LiDAR technology as developed by the company is the best option for the project's needs.