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Ford continues betting on the Mustang and with the launch of its seventh generation revalidated why it is the only automaker that produces cars for this segment. According to the brand, after launching pre-sales in Brazil, The first batch of 150 units sold out in one hour and as the days went by, more than 500 reservations were made.
The Argentine market, hit by various economic complications in recent times, will receive muscle car in September, month in which deliveries of a pre-sale that will begin in August.
In that framework, THE NATION came into contact with Mustang GT Performance at the Autódromo Velocittá, located 180km from the city of São Paulo, in Brazil and spoke with Martin Galdeano, president of Ford Argentina and Ford South America. “We love cars, Mustangs and sports car enthusiasts. As Jim Farley (Ford Global CEO) said, ‘as long as there is a customer who wants a V8 and a Mustang, we are going to keep doing it,’” he summarized around the launch.
“What we have is that we continue to care for the spirit of the first Mustang, with all the enthusiasm and emotion of this American sports car along with performance,” Galdeano added.
Patenting in May They amounted to 34,614 units, a 5.1% above April. These data, collected by the Association of Automotive Dealers of the Argentine Republic (Acara), allow us to analyze a complex local scenario, but with signs of improvement.
The start of the year, which was colored by delays in updating the luxury tax, difficulties in resolving debt with suppliers, stopped plants and patents below historical records They set the tone for a complex 2024. With those difficulties in tow, The numbers for the first five months of the year are 22.1% below 2023: For now, 152,339 cars have been patented at this point, but the previous year 195,673 were already registered.
“You asked me two or three months ago and I told you that I saw a market [que terminaría con] 340,000 or 360,000 [unidades vendidas totales]. Today I am seeing it more between 360,000 and 380,000″Galdeano analyzed. “We have been seeing a recovery which was stronger in the second half of May, perhaps leveraged by the slightly higher dollar, which helped in the purchase decision of some clients,” he concluded.
And in recent months, both on the side of the automobile companies and the Government Different measures were seen that sought to encourage sales growth. From the Treasury Palace, for example, news came in relation to import tariffs that, ultimately, allowed more air for the production of units and, in addition, the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo, announced that The Country Tax would be reduced if the Bases Law is approved.
The brands, on the other hand, resorted to bonus, financing, freezing and even price reduction strategies for some models. Such was the case of Ford, which reduced the list price of the Ranger, Territory and Kuga, among others. “What we did was reflect the incentives that were already on that list. The prices that a client paid, in short, they didn’t move”Galdeano explained.
“What we do is look at the resale value of a client and we are trying to have general policies, service, prices and so on, that help that resale value“, complete.
Galdeano also explained, in dialogue with colleagues from other media, that “The level of taxes on production and imports must be fixed” to be competitive, a topic he had referred to weeks ago during an interview with LA NACION at the Pacheco plant. Along these lines, with the elimination of obstacles to import units and in view of the coming months, There will be more launches. “Last year we had nine and this year we will be close. We see room for more models and versions and we are with that”, he concluded.
