Ford Hybrid Car Case Bass
MARKETING ENGINEERING FOR EXCEL
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CASE
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VERSION 1.0.2
Case
Ford Hybrid Car Case
By Arvind Rangaswamy
1.
Before beginning any case, students should familiarize themselves with the model being used. Marketing Engineering for
Excel comes with tutorials that demonstrate the capability of each model. The tutorial can be found under each model within the ME►XL menu after starting Excel. These tutorials are designed to work with our OfficeStar examples which are located in the My Marketing Engineering directory, usually installed in My
Documents during software installation.
There is no external data set associated with this case; all necessary data are included herein.
Ford’s Hybrid Future
In September 2006, Alan Mulally had just taken over as the CEO of Ford, the fifth largest corporation in the United States. Ford was in trouble, as was the entire American auto industry, partly due to the rapid increase in average gas prices from $1.10 per gallon for regular, unleaded gasoline in January 2002 to more than $2.50 per gallon in September 2006, according to the Energy
Information Administration. Sport utility vehicles and trucks, the mainstays of
Ford’s product line, no longer had the depth of consumer appeal they had in the past. Ford’s stock price had declined more than 30% from September
2004, and for the 2006 fiscal year, Ford executives were projecting a loss of almost $6 billion from ongoing operations; paired with restructuring costs, the total projected losses reached approximately $9 billion. Through its “Way
Forward” plan, Ford announced buyout offers for 75,000 hourly workers and planned to cut 30% of its 35,000 salaried employees in the United States.
Although these cost-saving measures would improve profitability, ultimately,
Ford needed to win in the marketplace to regain its past status; to win, it needs to take drastic market-oriented actions.
As part of the Way Forward plan, the previous CEO (and current
•
CASE
•
VERSION 1.0.2
Case
Ford Hybrid Car Case
By Arvind Rangaswamy
1.
Before beginning any case, students should familiarize themselves with the model being used. Marketing Engineering for
Excel comes with tutorials that demonstrate the capability of each model. The tutorial can be found under each model within the ME►XL menu after starting Excel. These tutorials are designed to work with our OfficeStar examples which are located in the My Marketing Engineering directory, usually installed in My
Documents during software installation.
There is no external data set associated with this case; all necessary data are included herein.
Ford’s Hybrid Future
In September 2006, Alan Mulally had just taken over as the CEO of Ford, the fifth largest corporation in the United States. Ford was in trouble, as was the entire American auto industry, partly due to the rapid increase in average gas prices from $1.10 per gallon for regular, unleaded gasoline in January 2002 to more than $2.50 per gallon in September 2006, according to the Energy
Information Administration. Sport utility vehicles and trucks, the mainstays of
Ford’s product line, no longer had the depth of consumer appeal they had in the past. Ford’s stock price had declined more than 30% from September
2004, and for the 2006 fiscal year, Ford executives were projecting a loss of almost $6 billion from ongoing operations; paired with restructuring costs, the total projected losses reached approximately $9 billion. Through its “Way
Forward” plan, Ford announced buyout offers for 75,000 hourly workers and planned to cut 30% of its 35,000 salaried employees in the United States.
Although these cost-saving measures would improve profitability, ultimately,
Ford needed to win in the marketplace to regain its past status; to win, it needs to take drastic market-oriented actions.
As part of the Way Forward plan, the previous CEO (and current