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Volvo Trucks North America (VTNA) Press Release / April 4, 2018 The Volvo D13TC has been completely redesigned to work at low engine RPM and provide maximum fuel efficiency through extreme downspeeding - giving you an engine that helps improve fuel economy without sacrificing performance. .

Peterbilt Motors Press Release / April 20, 2018 Model 520 Demonstration Vehicle with a fully electric drivetrain - emits zero emissions in a quiet manner, which is ideal for neighborhood communities where these trucks operate. .

DAF Trucks Press Release / April 18, 2018 The trucks of van de Brug, specialist in tanker transportation, have been driving through Europe for 55 years. The blue and white fleet consists mainly out of DAFs. "A strategic choice", says co-owner Evert van de Brug. "The quality of the vehicles and the service is great. And with the new generation CF and XF, DAF really sets the new standard." .

Liebherr Press Release / April 18, 2018 The Liebherr T 284 mining truck represents Liebherr’s advancement of the successful T 282 C. It continues to be the lightest (lowest empty vehicle weight) and most capable (highest payload) ultra-class mining truck, while offering reduced fuel consumption, delivering over 4,000 hp. .

Volvo Trucks Press Release / April 16, 2018 Our lightweight trucks deliver the best payload to all kinds of customers. Here’s just one example of how you can increase your profit by up to 25%. .

Volkswagen Clarifies Position on Navistar Takeover in SEC Filing Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT) / April 19, 2018 Volkswagen AG has cooled expectations that it is moving to take over Navistar International in an April 18 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. However, in the same statement, the Germany-based OEM left the door open for its Volkswagen Truck & Bus GMbH subsidiary to possibly acquire Navistar at some later date. The SEC form, signed by VW Truck & Bus CEO Andreas Renschler, was filed two days after media reports suggested that Volkswagen Truck & Bus was open to taking over Navistar International Corp. VW currently holds a 16.9% share in the U.S. company via a “wide-ranging strategic alliance," announced back in 2016. “On April 16, 2018,” stated VW’s SEC filing, “various news sources interpreted remarks, during a question and answer session, by representatives of VW T&B” to suggest that an acquisition of U.S.-based Navistar by the German firm was under consideration. “VW T&B is not," the statement continued, "reporting any changes to its plans or proposals [for Navistar]… although as previously disclosed, VW T&B continuously reviews its investment… [in Navistar] and may in the future determine to undertake various actions in connection with its investment, including the possible acquisition” of Navistar. On April 16, HDT contacted VW T&B for comment on whether or not the subsidiary was considering a full takeover of Navistar. In response, Julia Kroeber-Riel, head of Group Communications & Governmental Relations for Volkswagen Truck & Bus, told HDT that, “On our way to becoming ‘Global Champion,’ we keep all options open.” The reporting of April 16 also had it that VW T&B CFO Matthias Gruendler had indicated that U.S. law would require VW to issue a formal takeover bid for Navistar if it increases its stake above 17%. VW also sought to clarify that representation with its SEC filing, stating: “It was reported that a representative of VW T&B had stated that increases by VW T&B in its level of ownership of the Issuer [Navistar] above current levels would not be possible without VW T&B being required by Delaware law to make an offer to acquire all of the remaining outstanding shares of Common Stock not owned by it. VW T&B hereby corrects such statement by noting that neither U.S. securities law nor Delaware law includes such a requirement.”

Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT) / April 17, 2018 Autocar Trucks will be the first North American refuse truck manufacturer to offer the new Cummins X12 engine. The 11.8-liter X12 diesel engine will be offered in ACX refuse trucks beginning in October when Cummins starts full production of the X12 at its Jamestown, N.Y. facility. Autocar will begin accepting orders for X12-powered trucks in June. According to Autocar, the X12 will net customers an additional 733 pounds of payload compared to the previous engine, the ISX12. The weight saving is achieved through an innovative sculpted block design, as well as weight reduction in the after-treatment system, power take-off, and other components. The X12 also offers improved low-speed torque, even with similar horsepower ratings. At 2,050 pounds dry weight, the X12 is the lightest engine in the market compared to existing 11-, 13-, and 15-liter engines. Integration of the X12 offers lower operating costs due to extended maintenance intervals, 25% fewer parts, and a 6% improvement in fuel economy. The fuel savings alone equates to $10,800 over the life of a typical garbage truck at current diesel prices, Autocar says. "Autocar is focused on bringing innovations to the market with real, tangible benefits to our customers," said Jim Johnston, president of Autocar. "This new engine puts more cash in our customers’ pockets, plain and simple. We’re gratified that Cummins trusts us to bring the X12 engine to the refuse market first." Cummins introduced the X12 to North America in August 2016, but development work began in 2013 in close collaboration China's Foton Motor Co. There it's known as the ISG. The version of the engine we will see here has been substantially re-engineered to meet North American emissions rules and customer expectations. "We are excited to continue our partnership with Autocar through the introduction of Cummins’ next generation X12 diesel engine in Autocar’s ACX chassis" said Brett Merritt, vice president of Cummins’ on-highway engine business. "Autocar is a key player in the North America refuse market and this introduction will further our current collaboration across natural gas and diesel platforms." The X12 engine was tested in diverse terrain across the United States and Canada. Over two million miles of field testing was conducted across the full spectrum of applications, Cummins says. Drivers will notice smoother operation with fewer downshifts and even more responsive torque at low speeds. “Built around improved uptime and reliability, the X12 will be in prime position to support Autocar’s vision of ‘Always Up’”, continued Merritt. Autocar will offer the X12 across all Class 8 severe-duty vocational applications. .

Ford claims 30 mpg F-150 diesel wins pickup mileage crown Michael Martinez, Automotive News / April 19, 2018 DETROIT -- The first diesel version of the Ford F-150 will be rated at 30 mpg in highway driving, making it the most fuel-efficient full-size pickup on the market when it hits showrooms next month. Ford had targeted 30 mpg earlier this year for the rear-wheel-drive version and announced the official EPA estimates for the pickup Thursday. It will be labeled with 22 mpg in city driving and 25 mpg combined. The four-wheel-drive version of the truck with a diesel engine, which is expected to be more popular among customers, is rated by the EPA at 20 mpg city, 25 mpg highway and 22 mpg combined, Ford said. The 2018 Ram 1500 diesel, the only other diesel offered among light-duty big trucks, has an EPA rating of 27 mpg on the highway. "Even a few years ago, customers wouldn't have imagined an EPA-estimated rating of 30 mpg highway would be possible in a full-size pickup, but our team of crazy-smart engineers rose to the challenge," Hau Thai-Tang, Ford's executive vice president for product development and purchasing, said in a statement. The 3.0-liter Power Stroke engine is part of the F-150's midcycle freshening. It's meant to appeal to customers who tow and haul more than usual. The diesel engine will have 250 hp and 440 pound-feet of torque, besting the only other diesel offering in the full-size segment, the Ram 1500. It also will have best-in-class payload capacity among diesel offerings: 2,020 pounds for XL and XLT fleet applications and 1,940 pounds for retail applications. It can tow up to 11,400 pounds, which also is best among full-size diesel light-duty pickups. The diesel engine will be mated to Ford's 10-speed transmission, which was introduced on the 2017 F-150. Ford said it expects the diesel engine to account for roughly 5 percent of retail sales. It will cost $2,400 to $4,000 more than other F-150 engines. Retail customers may get the diesel on the three highest F-150 trims: Lariat, King Ranch and Platinum. Fleet customers, may order a diesel in the less expensive XL and XLT trims. Although F-150 is the first full-size pickup to crack the 30 mpg barrier, the Chevrolet Colorado midsize pickup also achieves that mark.

Watt’s Mack? 4MF426AP4

Typically the starter relay is a 2MR338 with 1 small post, and the accessory relay is a similar looking unit (2MR350) albeit with 2 small posts. But then your V8-equipped RD8 has a 24-volt starting system. I’d want an experience Mack parts person to double check it.

I meant, what does the original look like?

UAW Press Release / April 17, 2018 Terry Dittes UAW Vice President and Director of the Heavy Truck Department issued the following statement Tuesday: “The membership at Daimler Trucks voted by a 98% margin to support a strike if sanctioned by the International Union. This strike authorization development is due to the fact that an agreement has not yet been reached on a contract that expires on Friday April 20th, 2018 for some 7,000 UAW represented Daimler Truck members.”

Richard Truett, Automotive News / April 17, 2018 The auto industry is finally getting traction on its quest to make 95 octane gasoline the new regular in the United States. In testimony Friday before the House Energy and Commerce Committee's environment subcommittee, Dan Nicholson, General Motors' vice president of global propulsion systems, said making 95 octane the new regular aligns the U.S. with Europe and is one of the most affordable ways to boost fuel economy and lower greenhouse gas emissions. GM, Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, working with the United States Council for Automotive Research, are seeking just one grade of fuel: 95. That would eliminate today's grades, generally 87 octane for regular, 88-90 for midgrade and 91-94 for premium. Even though premium gasoline costs about 50 cents more per gallon than regular, Nicholson says moving to 95 octane would cost consumers far less. Speaking during a panel discussion at SAE International WCX World Congress Experience in Detroit the day before testifying before the house subcommittee, Nicholson said a 3 percent fuel economy improvement could be attained for less than a 3 percent increase in the cost of fuel. "This will have customer value if it is done correctly. Don't think of the premium fuel that is available today," Nicholson said. "If it is done in the right framework, it could have a lot of value for customers at a low rate if we pick the right octane level. If you go too high, it'll get expensive. But if you pick the right one, it'll actually work for customers. They can get around 3 percent fuel economy improvement for less than 3 percent" cost. A 3 percent fuel economy improvement might not sound like much, but engineers struggle for every tenth of a percent gain as they design, engineer, test and calibrate vehicles. "Fuels and engines have always been a system. That's how you have to think about it. I think America deserves as good a gasoline as Europe," Nicholson said. Technologies such as downsized turbocharged, direct-injected engines -- Ford's EcoBoost line, for example -- stop-start systems, lightweight vehicle bodies and transmissions with eight, nine and even 10 speeds have boosted fuel economy. But moving the fuel economy needle now is very expensive. For example, Nissan Motor Co.'s new VC-Turbo (variable compression turbocharged) four-cylinder costs at least $3,000 more to produce than a standard 16-valve double-overhead-camshaft four-cylinder. The new engine, available in the 2019 Infiniti QX50, delivers about 20 percent better fuel economy than the engine it replaced. Some of the cost savings from switching to 95 octane gasoline presumably would come from refiners gaining efficiencies from producing high volumes of one fuel for the U.S. Nicholson told me that it doesn't matter how the petroleum industry raises octane. Octane can be increased in several ways, such as by using more ethanol or by reducing heptane. David Filipe, vice president of Ford's powertrain engineering, appearing on the panel with Nicholson, said 95 octane fuel must be affordable. "That's been something that has been important to us. How do we do this without having a big impact on the customer?," Filipe said. "We don't want to put the burden onto the customer." Filipe said the cost must not add more than 5 cents per gallon. Higher octane enables engineers to raise an engine's compression ratio. That, in turn, increases horsepower and torque and helps the engine run more efficiently. Raising an engine's compression may be the most cost-effective -- and untapped -- way to improve fuel economy and lower carbon dioxide emissions. Increasing compression usually requires a modification to the pistons or the cylinder head's combustion chambers. "We have an opportunity to play a large role in offering consumers the most affordable option for fuel economy improvement and greenhouse gas reduction," Nicholson testified. "We believe a higher efficiency gasoline solution with a higher Research Octane Number (RON) is very important to achieving this. USCAR research shows that 95 RON makes sense from the viewpoints of both refiners and fuel retailers."

I've attempted to explain it before. In the way that the Europeans came out of WW2, it took them decades to claw their way back to the top. In an extremely hostile business environment, they developed an aggressive and merciless demeanor. We thought that we were the best, the benchmark for the world. And we were, coming out of WW2, for decades. Look at the great GM during the 1950s-1960s. But we began resting on our laurels from the 1970s, and with our head in the sand became soft. Now, look at us today. Foreign companies dominate our domestic market, and we have minimal heavy industry.

VW Truck Division Signals Possible Takeover of Navistar Transport Topics / April 16, 2018 Volkswagen AG’s heavy-vehicle division is open to a takeover of U.S. affiliate Navistar International Corp. as the German company seeks scale to compete with global leaders Daimler AG and Volvo AB. Volkswagen Truck & Bus, which is changing its structure to access capital markets in about a year, might consider boosting its existing stake of just less than 17% of Navistar, though that could trigger a mandatory takeover offer, Chief Financial Officer Matthias Gruendler said April 16 at a Munich press conference. Any purchase could be funded by parent Volkswagen and not depend on an initial public offering that the truck unit is considering, he said. A takeover “would theoretically be possible,” Gruendler said, outlining a potential price tag of about “3 billion to 4 billion,” without specifying dollars or euros. While he declined to comment on a possible time frame for a deal, he said cooperation between the manufacturers is developing well. Andreas Renschler, head of Volkswagen Truck & Bus, outlined global growth plans at the briefing that included adding sales in China and sharing costs across its MAN, Scania and Brazilian VW commercial-vehicle operations through joint procurement and development of parts. Volkswagen bought its holding in Lisle, Ill.-based Navistar in 2016 to gain a foothold in North America, where Daimler makes Freightliner vehicles and Volvo owns the Mack brand. Navistar shares jumped 7.3% to $39.75 as of 8:22 a.m. in New York, before regular trading. As of April 13, the stock was down 14% in 2018, for a value of $3.7 billion. Volkswagen shares fell 1.3% to 175.02 euros in Frankfurt. That pared the stock’s gain this year to 5.2%, valuing the German company at 87 billion euros ($108 billion). The Volkswagen truck division’s preparations for an IPO or a debt sale will take 12 months, and MAN’s Diesel & Turbo engine and Renk industrial-equipment units will be shifted from the business to parent Volkswagen, the executives said. “This comprehensive project will accelerate the transformation of our company” into “a true global champion, and will quickly make it ready for the capital markets,” Renschler said at the press conference. He reiterated that no decision has been made on an IPO. Bigger Payload The revamp of the heavy-vehicle division, which Evercore ISI estimates has as much as 30 billion euros in assets, marks the most significant structural shift so far for Volkswagen as the world’s biggest carmaker retools for massive change across its industry. The Wolfsburg, Germany-based manufacturer appointed Herbert Diess, head of its namesake auto brand, CEO last week, and he pledged to accelerate decision-making across the group to adapt to rapid shifts in technology and competition. An IPO for the truck and bus unit is just one option the division is considering to gain financing, Renschler said in an interview, adding that another would be to sell bonds. “It’s ultimately a decision for our shareholders,” he said. VW Chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch told reporters as April 13 the auto manufacturer will retain a controlling stake in the commercial-vehicle business and that a share sale might not happen until 2019, as it still requires final approval.

Volkswagen exec hints at possible, eventual Navistar takeover Jason Cannon, Commercial Carrier Journal (CCJ) / April 16, 2018 Barely more than 13 months ago, Volkswagen Truck and Bus acquired approximately 16.2 million newly issued shares of Navistar stock for $256 million, and one high-level executive hinted this morning the German automaker could one day be after a large slice. VW Truck and Bus Chief Finance Officer Matthias Gruendler said Monday at a press briefing a takeover of the Lisle, Ill.-based truck maker “would make sense at some point,” according to Reuters. “The cooperation is working really well.” While Gruendler offered no timeline and such a move certainly doesn’t sound imminent, Volkswagen would be legally required to make an offer for the remaining Navistar shares once it acquires 17 percent or more of the company. Volkswagen currently teeters just below that threshold at 16.9 percent. Lyndi McMillan, Navistar’s manager of external communications, said the company had no comment on speculation that VW Truck and Bus could up its stake in the company. “What we can say is that our alliance with Volkswagen Truck & Bus, which recently celebrated its first anniversary, is already demonstrating strong progress,” she says. “We look forward to continued success with our strategic alliance.” To-date, Navistar CEO Troy Clarke has lauded the partnership between the two companies, noting each have benefited from engineering collaborations and cost-savings. Last week, Volkswagen installed Herbert Diess as its new chief executive and is considering a push to sell stock in its truck and bus division which, the company says, will allow it to better compete globally with rivals Daimler and Volvo. Volkswagen’s truck and bus unit last week signed an agreement with Toyota-brand Hino, calling for the companies to collaborate on diesel and gasoline-electric hybrid engines, connectivity and autonomy, while also sharing research and development as well as procurement costs.

VW's trucks division open to buying majority of Navistar Reuters / April 16, 2018 MUNICH (Reuters) - Volkswagen is open to buying a majority stake in U.S. truckmaker Navistar "at some point," it said on Monday, as the German automaker prepares its trucks business for a possible stock market listing that could help raise funds to expand. Volkswagen Truck & Bus acquired a 16.9 percent stake in Navistar International Corp in 2016 and last week joined forces with Toyota's Hino Motors as it strives to compete more effectively with global truck market leaders Daimler and Volvo. Volkswagen (VW) plans to convert its trucks division, which includes the Scania and MAN brands and a Brazil-based commercial vehicles business, into a public limited company as a prelude to a potential stock market listing. "(Taking over Navistar) would make sense at some point," Matthias Gruendler, the finance chief of VW truck and bus, told reporters on Monday. A takeover would require between 3 and 4 billion in extra costs and could be shouldered without proceeds from a possible initial public offering (IPO), he said, without specifying whether he was talking about euros or dollars. "The cooperation (with Navistar) is working really well," he added. U.S. law would require VW to issue a formal takeover bid for Navistar if the German manufacturer raises its stake in the U.S. company above 17 percent, Gruendler said. VW paid $256 million for its stake in Navistar, bolstering Europe's biggest automaker's access to the lucrative North American truck market. VW's trucks unit had "significant" synergies from joint procurement with Navistar last year, division CEO Andreas Renschler said. Foreign expansion, as well as more joint development and purchasing of parts between MAN and Scania, may help VW's truck and bus operations increase their operating margin to 9 percent by about 2025 from 6.9 percent last year, Renschler added. VW group's supervisory board last Thursday paved the way for a potential IPO of its trucks business as part of a sweeping shake-up that also included naming a new group CEO and plans to streamline its multiple car brands. Renschler said preparations to tap capital markets either through an IPO or selling debt would take 12 months, adding MAN's Diesel & Turbo engine unit and transmissions maker Renk would be switched to VW. "We need a lot of investment and funding," Renschler said. "We are lifting the (trucks) group to the next level."

The Wall Street Journal / April 16, 2018 Volkswagen AG's commercial-vehicles unit said it is considering a full takeover of Navistar International Corp., one of America's largest truck makers with a market value of nearly $4 billion -- an ambitious move for the German auto maker just days after naming a new chief executive. Volkswagen Truck & Bus GmbH already owns just shy of 17% of Illinois-based Navistar and officials at the unit said Monday it could raise that stake or even launch a full takeover. The suggestion comes amid huge upheaval at Volkswagen. The company's board ousted Matthias Müller as CEO last week, replacing him with Herbert Diess, and reshuffled several executive board posts. Upon taking control Friday, Mr. Diess vowed to accelerate the pace of change at Volkswagen, including a potential stock market listing of its trucks business. It also comes at a politically sensitive time for the German auto industry. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused Europe of using what he characterizes as unfair international trade rules to flood the American market with imported vehicles. A charge German car companies refute. Talking to reporters Monday, Volkswagen Trucks CEO Andreas Renschler suggested a full takeover of Navistar would be "a good idea" as the company builds out its global strategy ahead of a possible initial public offering. Finance chief Matthias Gründler said the company could use proceeds from an IPO to fund the acquisition but also suggested it could mount a takeover beforehand, saying financing such a deal would be "manageable." Navistar, whose shares rose nearly 6% on the news, said the comments were speculation but noted its alliance with Volkswagen was "demonstrating strong progress." Navistar is the successor company to International Harvester, whose roots go back to the Cyrus McCormick's invention of the mechanical reaper for farm crops in 1831. International Harvester was dismantled during the 1980s, leaving Navistar as a company focused on trucks, engines and school buses. Its International brand is well-known throughout the North American trucking industry and the company has an extensive network of dealers and service shops, which would be a key asset for Volkswagen. It generated $30 million of net income on revenue of $8.6 billion last year and has a near 12% share of the U.S. market for heavy trucks. Volkswagen Trucks acquired a 16.6% stake in Navistar for about $256 million in 2016, a cornerstone of its global expansion strategy that gave the German truck maker a foothold in the U.S. as well as in Mexico and Canada. The North American Free Trade Association area is the largest truck market in the world by sales. Volkswagen Trucks now holds about 16.9% of Navistar, Mr. Gründler said, adding that if the company lifted its stake above 17% it would be required under U.S. securities law to make an offer for the rest of the company. Such a move would likely be welcomed by investors ahead of the IPO. Some analysts have encouraged Volkswagen Trucks to buy Navistar. Navistar's debt and unfunded pension liability total billions of dollars, likely diminishing the price that Volkswagen would be willing to pay for the rest of the U.S. company. Volkswagen Trucks was created in 2015 to consolidate Volkswagen's holdings in MAN trucks, Scania AB and Brazilian commercial-vehicles group Caminhoes Onibus. Volkswagen poached Mr. Renschler, the architect of rival Daimler AG's truck business, to build the company into a global business. Through its MAN unit Volkswagen Trucks holds a 25% stake in Hong Kong-based Sinotruck Ltd., one of China's largest commercial-vehicle manufacturers. Last week, Volkswagen Trucks and Japan's Hino Motors Ltd. unveiled plans to form an alliance that is likely to see the companies jointly develop commercial vehicles for the Japanese and Southeast Asian markets. The partners hope to benefit by sharing development and procurement costs. "That's one of the reasons for the strategic alliance. We only have to spend money once, as opposed to twice or three times," Mr. Renschler told reporters last week in Tokyo. Hino is owned by Toyota Motors Co. Initially, the venture won't jointly produce trucks and the companies say Volkswagen has no immediate plans to acquire a stake in Hino.

'Holy grail' platform coming into Focus Nick Gibbs, Automotive News / April 16, 2018 LONDON — Joe Bakaj, Ford of Europe's head of engineering, calls it nothing less than the holy grail. The new Focus compact, which rolled out here and in the central Chinese city of Chongqing last week, debuts Ford's global version of Volkswagen's much acclaimed MQB modular architecture, a central element of Ford's aim to achieve $4 billion in engineering efficiencies over the next five years. The unibody front-wheel-drive architecture (it has no snappy name, yet) is the first of Ford's five new global platforms — and arguably the most important after the body-on-frame truck architecture. Ford is developing them to enable savings and cut development time for new models by up to 20 percent, the company announced in March. The new architecture underpinning the Focus is flexible enough to encompass subcompacts such as the Fiesta as well as midsize models and crossovers such as the Edge and Escape, Bakaj told Automotive News at the global launch of the Focus here. "It's very scalable," said Bakaj (pronounced ba-KAI'). The U.S. version of the next- generation Focus will be sourced from China in the second half of 2019, Ford said. It's unclear what body styles will come stateside. Ford is ending U.S. production of the car this year at its Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Mich. What VW did VW Group's fwd modular transverse toolkit (aka MQB) was launched in 2011 and now underpins around 40 percent of the cars the VW brand sells globally. It predicts that by 2020, that figure will rise to 80 percent. The architecture is also used by Audi, Skoda and Seat, creating savings across the group. Ford's embrace of a similar modular system makes sense for the company, said Tim Urquhart, principal analyst for IHS Markit. "It's the only way forward to drive proper value and economies of scale, especially for a mass-market player like Ford," he said. Like the MQB, the Ford unibody platform will fix certain hard points, such as the distance between the ball of the driver's foot and the front axle, Bakaj said. That would allow the fitting of common modules across a range of vehicles, such as seat structures, electric handbrakes and air-conditioning units. "You won't use every module from the bottom to the top, but you'd try and reuse as many modules as possible," Bakaj said. This strategy looks much further ahead than Ford managed with vehicles on the C1 platform underpinning vehicles such as the current Focus, Escape and Transit Connect van, which used different air-conditioning systems, for example. "When we ran those car lines, we didn't have a clearer long-term plan over time, and we had to make changes," Bakaj said. "If you can plan out a suite of vehicles over a period of time, you get a scale globally." Vehicles built using Ford's new architecture even have their own design chief. Joel Piaskowski was appointed Ford's head of cars and crossovers globally in August last year. Increasing the number of model ranges on a single architecture can bring problems. VW initially struggled to adapt the MQB across different vehicles and brands, pushing up costs. The greater number of common parts can reduce supplier costs because of scale savings, but the strategy can also disrupt production and drive up recall costs in the event of a part failure. The scale will be key to ensuring the Focus is cheap enough to compete in China, yet sophisticated enough to attract buyers in the U.S. "We'd use the same technology but aim to source locally in China. That's how we'd get cost and scale," Bakaj said. Ford said it has reduced the number of orderable configurations on the U.S. Focus from 360 to 26, as well as cut engineering costs for the global car. "For example, in many markets, we won't have a price leader where we would have in the past," Jim Farley, head of global markets, said at the event. That would cut the need to make cheap wheel trims, for example. "The reduction of complexity is around the vehicles and the content that doesn't add a lot of value," he said. At the same time, Ford has added "good complexity"; one example is increasing the num-ber of higher-end trim levels to push up the average purchase price. In Europe, Ford added a crossover-inspired Active version with greater ride height, different bumpers and plastic protective strips. Said Bakaj: "We've reduced the number of parts we've engineered; we've reduced the cost of engineering, but we've offered more derivatives to suit different personalities, and that's the holy grail." .

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