Great news, but Ford Aust will have to substanially improve the build quality of the Focus over what they consider acceptable for the Falcon and Territory, otherwise the car will get a bad wrap locally and be avoided by buyers in what is a highly coompetitive segment of the market. Same goes for exports.
Needless to say the biggest worry for this cars success in Australia is the dealer network. They would really have to lift their game if Ford want to win sales from Toyota and Mazda.
All doable, but Ford will have to start straightening out these issues now. I suspect its a good five or ten year job to weed out the bad dealers (as in getting rid of them) and make the others realise the value of good customer service, if they want to compete successfully in the small car market.
The good news is it will be worth the effort for the smart dealers, as Focus is a very competitive car.
Dan
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