Ford says new Focus shows turnaround momentum

When Ford Motor Co (F.N) rolls out its Focus early next year, it expects to have an all-new small car that can win in the highest volume and highest stakes segment of the global car market.

The Focus represents something even bigger to Ford Chief Executive Alan Mulally: a vindication of the "One Ford" strategy he has been driving for the past four years and a commitment to take his company on the offensive in the fast-growth markets of China and India.

The Focus, due to begin its global debut in early 2011, represents the first Ford vehicle to have been developed under Mulally's mandate for a radical and sweeping simplification of the automaker's engineering and production.

"I think that the new Focus is a significant, maybe even the most significant, proof point of the transformation of Ford," Mulally told Reuters in an interview.

Ford will show off the production-ready Focus at the Paris auto show on Wednesday at an event intended to showcase the car's improved performance, styling and the fruits of Ford's restructuring.

"The next act is to keep developing the products that people really want and to do it more productively, in less time with less resources," Mulally said.

By making 80 percent of the parts on the Focus the same in models sold across Europe, Asia and North America, Ford was able to bring down costs on components.

That equates to savings of 40 percent on parts like seats supplied by Johnson Controls Inc (JCI.N). Ford has also invested in areas like engine technology to give the car best-in-its-class fuel economy, expected at up to 40 miles per gallon in highway driving, executives have said.

Full story