Take a new product development process, mix in human-centered design and customer feedback, and toss in a dash of new technology and simmer until tender. What do you have" The new Ford Focus.
“We?re evolving our successful One Ford strategy to find new ways to create a sporty-looking small car our customers will love,? explained Jim Farley, President of Global Markets, Ford Motor Company. “We?ll tailor which cars in the Focus lineup we offer in markets around the world to ensure we best meet customers? different needs and preferences.”
Tailor Made
Ford employees spent hundreds of hours speaking with customers from around the world, and the new Focus will be “tailored” to each global region accordingly. Ford says, through the use of globally common but flexible architectures and modules, the new Focus can better appeal to individual needs while maintaining a high level of commonality but low complexity. Future Ford vehicles will adopt this pattern. In essence, the automaker will move from individual platforms to more flexible architectures paired with modular ?families.? This will streamline a number of common components like engines, electronics, and sunroofs.
The next generation Focus has as few as 26 configurations, depending on the global market, versus 360 for the current generation. Ford says the complexity reduction helps lower costs while ensuring customers can more easily find the right vehicle. Photo: Ford Motor Company.
Tech Goo...