Ford’s stable of high performance sub-brands and divisions such as Ford SVT, Team RS and Ford Racing will henceforth be united under one global organization known as Ford Performance.
The new division is led by director Dave Pericak and will serve as a global competence centre to develop unique performance-oriented vehicles, parts, and accessories for the Ford brand. Pericak and his team will be operating from a new technical centre set up in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“Our new global Ford Performance team ties together racing, performance vehicles and parts. It will allow us to more quickly introduce products and accessories that meet the needs of customers around the world on-road and on the track,” said Raj Nair, Ford group vice president, Global Product Development.
Through the new global team, Ford aims to deliver more than 12 new performance vehicles by the year 2020 including the an all-new version of the Focus RS based on the current-generation Focus. The Focus RS will join Ford’s existing performance lineup, including Fiesta ST, Focus ST, Shelby GT350 Mustang and F-150 Raptor.
Besides serving as halo vehicles to light up the model range, these high performance variants have turned out to be highly profitable ventures for Ford. In the United States, ST models are responsible for attracting purchase from younger buyers, with millennial buyers twice as likely to buy an ST model over a regular Ford. Additionally, over 65% of ST customers are found to be conquest sales from other brands and more than half of Ford’s performance vehicle owners go on to purchase another Ford model.
Keyword: New global Ford Performance division announced