Thinking green to get out of red

Predicting a speedy recovery for any of the three struggling US auto giants may sound like wishful thinking.

Ford Motor, for one, may not see a turnaround until 2010, a senior company official conceded. The company, the second largest US automaker, announced a $3-billion (Dh11 billion) third-quarter loss in results announced earlier this month.

Still, Sue Cischke, Ford's group vice president for sustainability, environment and safety engineering (pictured) says she remains confident about the future of Ford.

"We have an outstanding plan and this differentiates us from some of our competitors," she told Gulf News in Dubai where she attended the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda earlier this month.

Cischke, who steers Ford Motor's long-term sustainability strategy and environmental policy, believes the best way to address environmental concerns dogging the industry is to step up production volumes of fuel-efficient vehicles.

The plan also responds to US consumers' waning interest in trucks and SUVs (sports utility vehicles) in the wake of record-high oil prices witnessed earlier this year. "Fuel efficiency is one of our top goals, and we have been having tremendous success with [our] quality and safety record," she says.

Sustainability and environment-conscious planning may sound a bit too indulgent given the current financial climate but Cischke says there's no looking back.

Product development projects untouched

"Even though we recognise that the market is really challenged right now and we have to make adjustments in our production schedule, we have not touched any of our product development [programmes]. A couple of programmes have been delayed by months but we have not cancelled them," she says.

She finds it fit to mention that President-elect Barack Obama is "very supportive to the auto industry".

"When the energy Bill was passed last year, there was a provision for $25 billion [to be spent] on fuel-efficient technology. That is really not new - it happened prior to this crisis. What we need to do though is to accelerate our access to this fund," she added.

The consumer urgency may have faded recently after fuel prices fell significantly but Cischke expects to see a little shift - a recovery for the truck market, and more interest in cross-over vehicles.

"I don't think everyone will be going to the very very small cars. But I think they will find more vehicles that suit their needs in cross-over vehicles."

"Fuel efficiency is still going to be important even if prices fall because people are worried about the environment. And they are worried about energy security as well".

Away from the US market with its doom and gloom forecasts, Ford has a success story in the Middle East. In the first nine months of the current year, Ford, Lincoln and Mercury sales shot up 28 per cent in the Middle East, with the UAE registering a 35 per cent growth over the same period last year. The demand was driven by trucks and SUVs, up by 45 per cent around the region.

"The beauty of the plan that we have flexibility and all the tooling that we were putting [together] is going to allow us to adjust to what the customer is going to require."