Ford CEO Jim Farley knows what most people now know about the Mustang: it’s sort of the last muscle car (sports car, really) standing among its original competitors from the early 1960s. Dodge has significantly altered the Charger’s formula, and the Challenger name is dead. Chevrolet seems to have no interest in a Camaro. The Mustang stands alone, and Ford is doubling down on it, says the CEO in a recent interview.
Ford’s Mustang Isn’t Going Anywhere
Ford
You wouldn’t know it looking at the Mustang’s sales figures here in the States. Ford sold 14.2 percent fewer Mustangs in the first half of the year here. But, as Farley reminds The Verge, the Mustang isn’t just an American car sold in America. Anecdotally, at least, the Mustang is popular overseas in Europe. It’s hard to go into a major European city without seeing one, in fact. After two weeks of traveling across a huge swath of Europe, I saw more Mustangs than BMW M cars.
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“Actually, we’re doing really well with Mustang. I think we’re the only one left really, which we’re quite proud of. We’re investing a lot in Mustang. I think the thing people don’t get about Mustang is that it’s a global car. It’s the best-selling sports coupe in the world,” says Farley.
Americana Sells, Apparently
Ford
More people buy the Mustang outside the States than here at home, in fact. Farley says it gives the company some confidence in keeping the model going and some confidence in investing in the sports coupe. “Everyone wants to do a burnout,” says the CEO. The Mustang, as it turns out, is the perfect vehicle for buyers wanting “a little slice of that America.”
What form this investment takes is unclear. Farley could be speaking of expanding the Mustang lineup. Rumors of an off-road Mustang and a four-door sedan have been around for years now. So have rumors of a hybrid. It’s clear Ford won’t want to dilute the Mustang’s formula too much, though. Buyers overseas want the Mustang they picture in their heads, and moving that image around too much could hurt the coupe.
