Mustang to Draw New Customers, Product Chief Says

LOS ANGELES – Overseas demand for the all-new ’15 Ford Mustang is exceeding expectations, and the latest pony car also is seen drawing new customers from its traditional North American market, says Raj Nair, group vice president-Global Product Development.

“We expected a lot of pent-up demand (in global markets), but I’d say it’s exceeding our expectations,” he tells WardsAuto during a Mustang drive event here. “We knew demand was out there, but even we were surprised.”

Ford for the first time will sell the Mustang in Europe, Asia-Pacific and other global markets beginning next year. The pony car always has had a following outside North America, but until now enthusiasts had to have their cars imported individually.

Nair says with Mustang now global, build complexity has been tailored to meet differing consumer demands. For example, the 3.7L normally aspirated V-6, which produces 300 hp and 280 lb.-ft. (379 Nm) of torque, only will be offered in North America.

The new 2.3L direct-injected turbocharged EcoBoost inline 4-cyl. making 310 hp and 320 lb.-ft. (433 Nm) of torque is expected to be a strong seller in international markets. The 435-hp 5.0L V-8 engine also will be offered overseas.

“Global markets will be the EcoBoost and V-8, because it’s difficult to imagine a Mustang without a V-8 being available,” Nair says.

All Mustangs will be built at Ford’s Flat Rock, MI, assembly plant, including right-hand-drive models.

“There are of a lot of people that know exactly what Mustang they want, and we want to make sure we fulfill that desire,” he says. “It’s going to be interesting satisfying all this demand.”

Along with global buyers, Nair says Ford expects the Mustang to attract new customers to the model as well as those who are longtime fans of the iconic pony car.

Ford has had much success with other performance offerings, including the Focus ST and Fiesta ST, drawing new and younger customers to the blue oval.

“Both Generation X and Y are still looking for aspects of individual freedom that a car like Mustang can provide,” Nair says. “That emotional connection to a vehicle is still a big part of the purchase decision, and I think the Mustang can feed that need.”

The Mustang should receive a sales boost when it hits the market later this year, perhaps enough to surpass its direct competitor, the Chevrolet Camaro.

Mustang’s U.S. sales last year fell 7.0% to 77,168, while Camaro deliveries were tumbled 5.4% to 80,567, according to WardsAuto data. Through August, Mustang sales have jumped 3.5% to 56,673, but the car still lags Camaro, which is up 9.4% to 64,767.

Ford is in the midst of clearing lots of current-generation Mustangs, and Nair says the sell-down is going well. At the end of August, Mustang had a 34 days’ supply.

Nair declines to comment on whether Ford expects the new Mustang to fuel sales enough to surpass Camaro. Additionally, he doesn’t put much stock in the notion the Mustang, Camaro and Dodge Challenger vie for sales from an identical consumer base. Rather, performance-oriented cars that often are an emotional purchase face competition on many fronts, he says.

“The cross-shopping is a lot broader than that,” Nair says. “To some extent it is an emotional buy, and there are a lot of categories of vehicles that can fulfill that. So the cross-shopping covers a lot more than traditional Big Three muscle cars.”

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