Introduction

Ford, as a multinational organization, was examined in terms of the Chinese market,

how it entered it, and how it performs in the international market despite severe

competition from other auto titans.

Organisation Background

Ford Motors is a worldwide automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn,

Michigan. Henry Ford created the firm in 1903 and incorporated it in 1919. The firm

primarily produces passenger automobiles, tractors, trucks, and other auto parts (ford

motors, 2021). In 2018, it was rated 11th among Fortune 500 firms. With approximately

190,000 employees worldwide. Ford's aim is to help build a better world in which

everyone is free to move and pursue their aspirations. To achieve its vision, the

company has a diverse portfolio of vehicles from which customers can select based on

their preferences (Miller, 2022). The Company designs, manufactures, markets, and

services a complete line of Ford cars, trucks, SUVs, electrified vehicles, and Lincoln

luxury vehicles, in addition to providing financial services through Ford Motor Credit

Company LLC ("Ford Credit"), and is pursuing leadership positions in electrification,

mobility solutions, including self-driving services, and connected vehicle services.

(2019, Ford Motor Company). Ford Motors is the world's second largest automobile

company, with an estimated $127 billion-dollar multinational enterprise.

Ford profile internationally

Ford Motor Company is a car manufacturer that designs, manufactures, markets, and

services a wide range of automobiles, trucks, SUVs, and electrified vehicles. The firm
provides automobile finance and leasing. Ford's goods are sold under the brand names

Ford and Lincoln. Customers are served from South America, the Middle East, Europe,

North America, Africa, and Asia Pacific. The corporation operates transmission factories,

assembly facilities, casting plants, metal stamping plants, engine plants, and other

component plants all around the world.

Ford's core competencies were their manufacturing procedures, which allowed them to

achieve economies of scale and so enhance revenues, as well as their core efficiency,

which allowed them to adjust to the effect of a changing external environment. Their

core expertise has developed since then to suit the needs of a changing external

environment. Ford's current key capabilities include great brand awareness, competitive

connections, and the "One Ford Plan." Their unique capability is their intense growth

plan of decreasing their portfolio through various cost-cutting approaches.

Ford announced an investment of up to £230 million in its Halewood vehicle

transmission plant to convert it to make electric power units for future Ford all-electric

passenger and commercial vehicles marketed in Europe, expanding on the company's

promise to go all-in on electrification in Europe. (2021, Ford Media Center)

Evaluation of the International Marketing Undertaken by Ford

Ford has become increasingly reliant on the US and European markets over the years.

This has hampered its profits. Experts predict that rising nations like China and India will

account for the great bulk of future automobile sales (Parker, 2019). This necessitates

the expansion plan and has become a compelling reason for the decision to expand.

This is also required to maintain Ford's position as the world's fifth largest automaker.
Ford competes with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, General Motors Company, Honda Motor

Company, Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, PSA Peugeot Citroen, Renault-Nissan B.V.,

Suzuki Motor Corporation, Toyota Motor Corporation, Volkswagen AG Group, and a

slew of other automakers throughout the world (IvyPanda, 2021). Ford's Automotive

division produced roughly USD 145.65 billion in sales in 2017, accounting for 92.9

percent of the company's overall revenue (Enkhbayar, 2018). Ford has a $33.46 billion

market capitalization and a $160.33 billion annual revenue (Parker, 2019).

Ford Motor Company developed an international footprint with the creation of its first

overseas branch in Walkerville, Canada. Ford presently operates in North America as

well as over 125 countries worldwide (Ford Motor Company, 2020). Ford's success is

fuelled by a worldwide commitment, with 186,000 employees working in factories and

offices all over the world to develop, build, sell, and service a comprehensive line of

Ford cars, trucks, and SUVs, as well as Lincoln luxury vehicles. ford is

currently investigating new possibilities to extend their business model aggressively,

including investments in electrification, autonomy, and mobility. Ford sold around

6,607,000 wholesale vehicles worldwide in 2017. Distributors and dealers, the great

majority of which are privately held, sell all automobiles, parts, and accessories. 2021

(Jurevicius) Furthermore, Ford exported more than 280,000 vehicles built in the United

States to markets outside of the United States, the most of any automaker. In China,

Ford presently has eight assembly factories, three engine plants, and one transmission

facility (Ford Motor Company, 2020). These factories, along with others in Canada,

Mexico, Germany, South Africa, and other nations, proved that Ford has a presence in

practically every country on the earth, something just a few car makers have. As a
consequence, vehicles ranging from passenger cars to trucks and the Lincoln luxury

automobile are produced and marketed abroad. A Ford automobile may be found in

nearly every country on the earth. Since its beginnings, one of Ford's primary objectives

has been to see a Ford automobile in every family. This has been driving their marketing

strategy for the last year.

Ford in China

Ford manufactures vehicles in China through a joint venture with Chongqing Changan

Automobile Co Ltd and Jiangling Motors Corp Ltd (JMC), in which it has an interest

(Staff, 2021). Through the development of a separate business named Ford Electric

Mach Technologies (FMeT), Ford is spending more in electric cars to boost growth and

improve sales in the Chinese market (Randall, 2022). Ford's principal objective is to

customize its products to Chinese consumers' wants.

The 2017 F-150 Raptor SuperCrew was Ford's first vehicle to be shipped to China.

Despite the fact that Ford trucks have previously been sold into China through various

firms, the 2017 Raptor will be Ford's first vehicle delivered directly to the big Asian

country (Quimby, 2016). In mid-June, Ford Motor Company announced plans to shift

Ford Focus production activities from Hermosillo, México, to a new factory in

Chongqing, China, beginning in 2019. This is the second major change. 2017 (Navarro).

Ford cancelled plans to build a $1.6 billion assembly facility in the San Luis Potosi

municipality of Villa de Reyes, in the state of San Luis Potosi, in 2019. This was done in

order to get access to the Asia market, which is quickly becoming the largest in the

vehicle industry.
Though there are lots of competitions but ford with their investment in research and

development are making head way in this led to Ford Motor Company ending the

financial year on high in the year with growth and outperformance in the China (Root,

2022). In 2020, Ford sold 602,627 automobiles in China, a 6% rise over the previous

year and the company's first yearly growth in the world's largest automotive market

since 2017. According to Chinese economic indicators, the growth rate in 2021 will be

8.1%. 2022. The economy is expected to slow to 5.1% in 2022 and 2023. At the end of

2021, China's per capita income was $12,551. It is expected to more than double to

$25,307 USD by 2025. Furthermore, the Chinese central bank has reduced interest

rates to 3.7%, which may be beneficial to automakers because customers will be able to

obtain credit at a lower rate, increasing their purchasing power (International Monetary

Fund, 2022). This will stimulate sales of Ford products in the Chinese market (Miller,

2022)

While comparing Ford performance in the international market where there is

competition with the world largest maker Toyota and other like Volkswagen, General

motor and emerging Chinese automakers, ford is using new technology to improve

sales and develop new products.

Ford has built significant relationships with local Chinese automakers, and the business

now has three joint ventures:

Changan Ford Automobile Corporation, Ltd. (CAF) is a joint venture between Ford and

Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Ltd. that is 50/50 owned by Ford. CAF owns and

runs seven Chinese factories.

Changan Ford Mazda Engine Company, Ltd. (CFME) is a Chinese joint venture formed

by Ford and Mazda. Changan owns the remaining 50% of a joint venture in which both

firms have a 25% share. CFME produces engines for Ford and Mazda automobiles

made in China.

JMC is a joint venture of Ford and Jiangling Holdings, Ltd. JMC has three assembly

sites and one engine factory in China.

There are numerous manufacturers in the global automobile sector, with no one

dominating manufacturer. Certain manufacturers, on the other hand, account for a

sizable share of overall sales in specific nations, notably their home countries. General

Motors is the world's largest carmaker and the biggest in the United States, whereas

Toyota dominates the Japanese market. Ford is battling against established

corporations like as General Motors, Tesla, Toyota Corporation, Volkswagen Group, and

Daimler AG throughout the world. These firms have gained market share by

manufacturing low-cost, fuel-efficient goods. Ford can please clients because of its

professionals who are committed to providing high-quality items.

Ford's recovery from the Great Recession of 2008 serves as an example. With

approximately 5,953,000 car sales in 2017, Ford Motor Company is ranked third in

terms of global automobile market share. (2017 Global Car Sales Analysis) And is

currently ranked fourth in the world in 2021, producing 4.2 million units of ford varieties

and earning $127.1 billion in revenue (All Top Everything, 2022)

The company accomplished this feat by restructuring and re-energizing its operations.

The company has achieved the distinction of being one of the companies with the

highest sales in the United States. The previous year, the firm debuted many models,

including the F-150, EcoSport, Focus Electric, all-new Fiesta and Expedition, and an all-

new Lincoln Navigator, and has thus continually been one of the world's top automobile

manufacturers since its foundation. In 2018, Ford announced the closure of its

greenfield factory in Mexico in order to focus on developing plants in China. This was

done in order to get more access to the rising Asian car industry, which is expected to
be the largest in the world in the near future. Economic analysts say Ford's decision to

relocate to China is prompted by the same economic forces that drove the closure of

the San Luis Potosi operation. "Ford's decision to relocate the Focus to China reflects

both the United States' weak demand for small cars and China's growing importance."

which is the world's largest automobile market, this was done in order to gain a

competitive advantage by selling Ford vehicles in China from a plant in that country.

Navarro (2017)

Entry Mode Evaluation

In 1989-90, Ford bought Jaguar, a British luxury automobile manufacturer, to gain

access to the international market. In 1993, Aston Martin became a completely owned

subsidiary. In 1994, Hertz Corporation was purchased, followed by Volvo's automotive

business in 1999, and the Land Rover brand of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) in 2000.

Ford also acquired a significant share in Mazda Motor Corporation. As the company

suffered in the early twenty-first century, Ford began selling these brands. In 2005, Ford

sold Hertz, then in 2007, it sold Aston Martin. In 2008, it sold Jaguar and Land Rover to

Tata Motors Ltd. of India. Ford began selling Mazda stock in 2008 and completed the

deal in 2015. In 2010, Volvo was sold to the Chinese business Zhejiang Geely Holding.

Ford declared in 2018 that all passenger vehicles, with the exception of the Mustang

and Ford Focus Active, will be phased out. Instead, the business intended to focus on

pickup trucks. this led to scaling up in the market making Ford's F-series pickup

trucks the best-selling cars in the United States in the late twentieth and early twenty-

first century
In 2018, Ford's car deliveries in the United States declined for the fourth year in a row.

This prompted the firm to discontinue its sale of slow-selling, non-electric passenger

vehicles in order to increase profitability through a revamped product range, paving the

path for the company to establish itself in the worldwide market. As a result, China is

Ford's second largest market. In order to achieve more comfortable and quicker market

penetration, Ford's global marketing has always involved significant market research.

This necessitates excellent communication, especially when it comes to newly designed

automobiles. (Marig, 2020). After incurring significant production expenses, Ford Motors

chose to modify and adapt the standardized formula. As a result, the annual profits of

the corporation have grown.

Following the debut of its One Ford initiative, the business closed a few production units

and combined several of its departments in order to standardize the company. The

corporation then developed synergies amongst its many business groups so that they

could all work toward a common marketing goal. This method offered the benefit of

decreasing operating expenses while improving profitability. (Marig, 2020). Ford's new

approach in China provides greater authority to local management and adds to a

worldwide restructuring plan that will save $11 billion over the next five years by

lowering costs, developing alliances, and investing in new technologies. According to

regulatory filings, this resulted in a profit of $72 million for the fiscal year ending March

31, 2018, up from a deficit the prior year.

The strategy appears to be giving Ford a cautious start to stronger sales in China,

showing that the American automaker's two-year-old strategy for one of the world's

most competitive automotive markets is bearing fruit. (Reuters, 2018). This

competition remains fierce, the implementation of new technologies in production and

the enhancement of existing marketing strategies, which are being reviewed, will

provide Ford with the necessary advantage to maintain its position in the international

automobile market.

The analysis paralysis hypothesis was utilized to examine what Ford has done in terms

of international marketing of its products. This refers to over-analyzing (or over-thinking)

an issue or referencing sources to the point where a choice or action is never taken,

causing the conclusion to be paralyzed. (2014) (Kurien, Paila, and Nagendra). Analysis

paralysis is a circumstance in which the opportunity cost of decision analysis surpasses

the advantages earned by making a decision, or an informal or non-deterministic

situation in which the sheer amount of analysis overwhelms the decision-making

process itself, prohibiting a conclusion. It is believed that when a producer provides

more options to the consumer, sales increase. This will prompt consumers to seek out

the most beneficial product.

In the case of Ford, there is a lot of competition in the international market, and in the

Asia market, which all automobile manufacturers are attempting to control, consumers

have several options. This caused them to always consider the best product that will be

beneficial before purchasing. Because of the population and access to technology,

China's vehicle market is gradually becoming the world's largest. This gives Chinese

automobile users access to different products and has led to over analysing the best

products that suit them. It is on this principle that the one ford vision emanates. Which is

to produce products that meets the needs of people and are profitable to Ford, thereby
expanding the business to almost every country in the world and China is benefiting

from that through the establishment of assembly plants, transmission plants and engine

plants

Ford Motor Company in the United States of America and China

Ford provides around $100 billion to the US GDP, with the best-selling F-Series

generating nearly $50 billion. The F-Series franchise brings in more money than

McDonald's US, Nike, Coca-Cola, Visa, and Netflix combined.

Ford declared in 2017 in the United States that it will boost automobile manufacture in

China. Following an early proposal to build its Ford Focus model in Mexico, this was

believed to be a transfer to Chongqing, China, for Ford Focus manufacturing in 2019,

allowing the automaker to avoid costly retooling and investment expenditures. It is also

a marketing tool for acquiring access to the largest market on the planet. Ford, on the

other hand, has a bad reputation in China.

Despite this, Ford Corporation experienced a year-on-year loss in China for three years.

Ford became the market mover and shaker in China with the introduction of the new

Mustang E, one of a series of electric vehicles introduced by Ford. This gives Ford an

advantage in the production of electric vehicles, and China, which has access to

technology, is quickly becoming a large market. Ford announced a fourth-quarter

operating deficit in China, but anticipates profitability to recover in 2022. Ford raised its

CV share in both the fourth quarter and the full year 2021, with the latter reaching 15%,

and it presently has an all-time high Transit van order book. E-transit was launched in

early 2022. (Ford, 2021).

in China, preparing the business to be a key participant in the world's largest luxury car

market. Lincoln sales in China surpassed those in the United States for the first time.

Lincoln model sales for the whole year were approximately 50% higher than in 2020,

with the Lincoln Zephyr due to appear in the first quarter of 2022 and other new goods

from the brand on the way (Ford, 2021).

Though the United States remains Ford's largest market, the Chinese market is quickly

gaining Ford's attention, and the presence of approximately ten Ford plants gives Ford

the necessary advantage over its competitors to be the number one automobile brand.

This ford is making progress with its sustainability project. Furthermore, the world is

moving toward carbon reduction in the environment, which Ford is attempting to achieve

by producing energy-efficient cars in the form of electric vehicles and hybrid electric

vehicles. According to Ford's most recent sustainability report, the company plans to

increase electric vehicle production to 50% of total production by 2026. This has

resulted in significant investment in research and technology, which is reaping benefits

and assisting in sales growth.

Ford Success factors in the International Market

Over the years, Ford Motors has concentrated more on the adaption strategy, which has

resulted in high manufacturing costs, resulting in a strategy change by electing to shift

and adapt the standardization formula. As a result, the annual earnings of the

corporation have grown (O'Rourke, 2017). In order to standardize the corporation, Ford

launched its One Ford strategy, which resulted in the closure of a few production sites

and the consolidation of several of its divisions. The corporation then used the
synergies of its numerous business segments to accomplish an unified marketing

objective. This method offered the benefit of decreasing operating expenses while

improving profitability.

As part of its diversification strategy, Ford Motor Company develops new goods. One of

the reasons for the establishment of the One Ford Plan, which assists in the

presentation of new and smaller automobiles, battery-powered vehicles, plug-in hybrids,

and environmentally friendly vehicles, was to address this issue. This has aided in the

improvement of prices, particularly in China and the United States, and has lately made

Ford the best-selling automobile in the United States. According to the One Ford Plan,

another approach for releasing new automobiles is market penetration. In order to

achieve more comfortable and quicker market penetration, Ford's global marketing has

always involved significant market research. The method necessitates clear

communication, especially with relation to newly designed vehicles (O'Rourke, 2017).

This is one of the reasons Ford is investing heavily in research. This has giving it edge

in the automobile market.

In addition, Ford Motors is increasing its low-cost car lineup with the purpose of

appealing to people of all income levels, from the working to the middle classes (Cooper

& Kleinschmidt, 2015). This technique is less hazardous than diversification, but it

provides Ford with access to a wider range of clients, which resulted in increased sales

and a wider profit margin in 2021, and they have profited in that year concluding 2022.

Another aspect contributing to Ford's international success is the adoption of the

majority of its top safety features, such as brake assistance radar and roll stability
(Lado, MartnezRos, and Valenzuela, 2016). This has given Ford simple market

penetration by making customers feel at ease driving any of the Ford models.

Ford has increased its investment in local partnerships in China, which has assisted the

company's expansion in international markets. Aside from these local collaborations,

Ford's premium Lincoln brand has experienced tremendous success in China. Luxury

car sales in China increased in 2016, according to the company's financial report.

Lincoln is well-known for its quality, elegance, and customer service (Jurevicius, 2021).

Conclusion.

Ford has risen to become one of the world's largest automobile manufacturers.. This

was accomplished through extensive research and development. Despite the fact that

they have faced numerous setbacks in the market as a result of acquisitions of existing

plants that have failed to produce the desired results. This has resulted in constant

adjustment and increased market share in the international market. Also, to build on the

gains. Ford should consider major partnerships in the Chinese market. The few things

they are doing are paying off. And maintaining and improving on this will propel them to

the top of the international market.

To summarize, Ford, as one of the world's leaders in the automobile industry, has

consistently improved as a result of their global presence. As competitors shift into the

electric vehicle industries, it is recommended that the transition to eco-friendly vehicles

be done with caution. A global brand like Ford will benefit from investing more in

research, both production research and marketing research, to maintain its position at

the top of the ladder.

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