Ford Territory starts deliveries

The updated and much improved Territory has been delayed by a computer glitch involving the dashboard display unit but Ford says the problem has now been solved. It has been stockpiling cars around the country while working on the problem and, with a remedy now in place, intends to pump the new Territory through dealerships immediately.

The result will be around 700 deliveries in quick time, followed by a concerted campaign with Australia's only locally-made SUV.

Ford Australia is downplaying the delay, even though Carsguide has been peppered with complaints from potential buyers following the press preview drives of the car in early April.

"We had always said we would have it into showrooms in May and it's slipped slightly into the first week of June," says Sinead McAlary of Ford. "It was always important to us, because of the amount of interest and the build-up to the car, that we delivered the right result for customers. We want to maintain the positive momentum with Territory. "

"We believe it was absolutely the right thing to do to get the car right before we sent it out."

Success for the Territory could help to offset the dismal showroom effort by the Falcon through the first five months of 2011, which has some people recalling the dark days - including massive stockpiles - from the time of the AU Falcon.

Ford only got back on track with its Falcon with the BA model in 2002. On the Territory front, Ford has more than 700 customer orders and, with more than 200 dealers, is keen to get the SUV up to speed at its Broadmeadows factory, which, ironically, is hardly stretched by Falcon.

"There are 209 dealers and we've promised each one they will have at least one car by the end of this week," says McAlary.

Ford has also begun an intensive showroom push with the Falcon, reacting to very sluggish demand for its bread-and-butter model.

"We have a new advertising program we've just launched with some incentives to small business. Dealers are starting to report increased traffic for Falcon, which is good," says McAlary.

She is confident there will be a rub-off from the updated Territory. "Positive momentum for Territory is positive moment for the brand, and that can only be good for Falcon."

Ford is still assessing the impact of its ne w diesel model in the Territory range, and the potential growth of all-wheel drive sales with buyers who want a diesel SUV for towing.

"The early launch mix is heavily skewed to diesel, 70: 30. There is pent-up demand for the diesel but we believe it will settle at about 60:40. We're Also expecting more demand for the all-wheel drive system, although we don't have a clear picture of that yet," says McAlary.