Ford not to apply brakes on Asean investment

[snoop1130]

Ford not to apply brakes on Asean investment

By THE NATION

 

 

Ford has given an assurance that it will continue to invest in the Asean region, in response to General Motors’ announcement on February 17 that it would cease Chevrolet sales in Thailand by the end of 2020.

 

American automaker Ford recently invested more than $82 million (Bt2.5 billion) in its northern Vietnam factory to increase manufacturing capacity.

 

Ford is among the large automotive companies in Thailand, with cumulated investment of more than $2.5 billion since 1995.

 

In 2019, the automaker sold 43,375 Ford Rangers in Thailand – the third biggest in pick-up sales volume for four consecutive years. 

 

Ford’s total vehicle sales in 2019 were 50,006.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30382338

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-02-18

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[Sydebolle]

Excellent cars (I have a fleet of 14 pick-ups) with the absolute lousiest service network - as far as I came across.

 

The dealerships in Udon, Nong Khai (both Teekacharoen) as well as Pattaya and Rayong (both Top Car) are absolutely hopeless and the Ford office in Bangkok is help- and absolutely useless. 

Hence I switched - very much to my regret due to the affinity to Ford - to Isuzu pick-ups as reliable workhorses with a customer friendly and forthcoming after sales network. 

The first car is sold by the offered deal, the exhibition, by the sales staff or the brand. Subsequent vehicles depend on the experience with the first vehicle. 

[NanLaew]

8 hours ago, Sydebolle said:

The dealerships in Udon, Nong Khai (both Teekacharoen) as well as Pattaya and Rayong (both Top Car) are absolutely hopeless ...

The 'average' individual customer may only visit any dealership once a year so if that one-off event leaves a bad taste, then it is assumed that all others will be experiencing the same. If it was a good job well done, then a better grading is based on that. As a fleet operator, you will have a much better overall grading of any dealerships abilities and service due to your higher sampling rate so, unless you had a lot of bad drivers or Ford sold you a fleet of lemons, your opinion should be more valid. Then there is the serial complainer who drops by with complaints about strange clicks from somewhere near the front that only happen when they're leaving Makro on cool mornings or reckons it's pulling to the left but hasn't noticed the slow puncture.

 

In my experience over 8 years of serial Ranger ownership, Teeka in Udon where I bought my trucks, have provided excellent sales and overall good service. When I lived in Pattaya, I had 90% good service from Tops as well. The only low marks were for 'dealer shop' repairs (Pattaya) after a prang which on subsequent research, was due to shortcomings in the insurance company's due diligence. The other was for a one-time slow warranty repair (Pattaya) where the 3-day 'promise' took 5 days. So my grading is based on a total of maybe a dozen visits over 8 years whereas you as a fleet operator may have as many in a single year.

 

I have found that a dealership is only as good as they staff they hire. The service manager at Udon wasn't very customer friendly but the guy that replaced him was better. The Pattaya service manager was good but the guy who replaced him wasn't. They are like private schools in this regard where the owners only hire what they're willing to pay for. If a good worker isn't getting the rewards or recognition, like a good generalist mechanic working under a worthless service manager, he moves on. Same with sales where a stellar performer who gets new trucks out the door isn't recognized for her abilities, she will go somewhere else.

 

I am not making excuses for Ford as I am sure that Toyota and Isuzu with their longer presence and greater market share have the same management and staffing issues. Maybe Toyota's pay and conditions have a better minimum standard with Toyota having more control? Maybe it's just that there are far more of them and thus more 'churn' with the good workers being recognized and staying put while the dross, after maybe 2 or 3 jobs with various branches, get hired by the useless Ford shop manager working for the cheap Ford dealership. Ford have been addressing this historical poor service issue but with this current economy and slumping sales, I can see stasis with employee turnover and if your local branch has a good 'un, you are lucky whereas another may be stuck with the current clown. That applies to any brand.

Edited February 19, 2020 by NanLaew

[guzzi850m2]

I visit Ford Pattaya every 9 month for service for our 2013 WT and no complaints expect that the amount of customers have exploded because the Ranger is so popular.

Before the new Ranger was launched is was just a little sleepy dealership, not many Ford vehicles around, so quite a wake-up call for them and they had to adjust.

The only reason why I am not getting a Ford next time is because the Ranger is not really that practical for our use and we will be looking at getting a small SUV as replacement when the time come to get a new ride in 2-4 years time.

Sadly I can't afford the Mustang????, I will love one as a joy ride but I will have to stick to my big bike instead.