1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186 
Back in harness
Page 20
Page 21
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
When you have a 40-year market leader it might be tempting to sit back. But that's not
Gary Whittam's style. Andy Salter reports.
K, we admit it. Back in November we made a cock-up on the Ford Transit roadtest, getting some of the facts and figures wrong. We apologised at the time, but Ford's UK commercial vehicle sales director Gary Whittam isn't about to let us forget. He's miffed. How do we know this? Because he's just told us so in no uncertain terms. Gum shield in place we prepare for a punch-up... it should make for an interesting interview!
Gary Whittam returned to Ford's UK headquarters last summer as commercial vehicles sales director, replacing Steven Parker. This much-travelled executive — he's worked in several Ford markets throughout the globe — is anything but a Ford journeyman. He's as direct, animated and passionate about his company and its products as this correspondent is about his magazine, which means we lock horns during the early exchanges. Enthusiasm
A lifetime working for the huge bureaucratic machine that is Ford in Europe (Whittam started as a trainee technician in a dealership) has not dented his enthusiasm for CVs. He has a strong belief in 'the company' and a positive, possibly inflated, view of its products.
This weekend he joined the LondonBrighton historic CV run in a 1960 Anglia van and he reckons he spends as much time in the current Transit van and Ranger pickup range as he does in his saloon car and riding his motor cycle. Being UK market leader for the past 40 years since its launch the Transit range has a
rich legacy, which brings an added pressure to the CV boss. As UK market leader Ford is there to be shot at by all and sundry. But while much has been made of Transit's falling market share — it has dropped steadily from the heady 40%-plus levels of a few years ago — in terms of actual units registered the ubiquitous panel van continues to go from strength to strength: "Transit registrations for 2003 were our best volumes since 1990," says Whittam, "and our third best ever. Market share isn't the be all and end all. I'm certainly not unhappy with the performance of Transit."
With the van market growing so rapidly over the past two or three years, coupled with ever more competitive pricing, it would be naive to think Ford could hold onto all of its market share.
"I'm not driven just by market share," Whittam reiterates. "Every sale sees the cash till ringing — I have to make a value judgment on whether we pursue share for its own sake. We have to continue to generate good profits in order that we can re-invest in the company. Without that crucial element we can't continue to produce the vehicles which meet the customer's needs.
"Of course, we want to protect our position as market leader, but it's not the only thing that drives our strategy. I'll turn down deals on the basis of profitability and that will inevitably have an effect on share." With the main elements of the product range — Transit, Transit Connect, Ranger and Fiesta — now in place the effort shifts to filling the gaps in the line-up. Elsewhere in this issue we've
been driving the new high-power 134hp Transit and we understand there are plans for a revamp of the high-volume 'jumbo' van this summer. It's interesting to note Ford has resisted the temptation to get involved in the 150hp-plus power race with the Transit; and with good reason, according to Whittam: "There's too much attention placed on horsepower. The problem with big horsepower is that if it's not required it will have a big fuel penalty. All our engines are focused on driveability, hence the high torque output of the new offering, and driving quality." Detail
In addition to the hardware improvements, Whittam is keen to ensure that the 'soft' issues surrounding the operation of Ford CVs don't get overlooked. There's been a lot of effort put into developing the 'Backbone of Britain' CV dealer network and over the next few months new finance and leasing products tailored for the van buyer are planned from Ford Credit.
Likewise, on used vehicles the company is looking to extend the offering to the customer.
By his own admission Gary Whittam is relishing life back in the 'truck' division of Ford. With an astute strategic understanding of the requirements of the market he's shaping the CV division of the UK's market leader to ensure it delivers the goods and services to current and future operators of light CVs. There are challenges aplenty ahead which will require all his energy and enthusiasm. The story so far is good — and the market leader appears to be in good hands.•