Ford Australia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Ford Australia - Essay Example Next in scheme of things lies Cost and Market analysis, which probe into questions such as the resources FPV has at its disposal, and how well it's able to use them. The key metrics identified are: differentiation of markets, closeness of substitutes, barriers to entry and modes of competition. This presentation is helpful in building a macroeconomic risk assessment module looking into the impact of factors such as inflation, CPI, interest and exchange rates, examining various risk factors, thereby understanding FPV's business development plan. At a micro-level, the analysis would entail studying of internal forces such as manpower, growing opportunities, etc. The ultimate aim of our research is to develop a competitive strategy model, which is done through Porter method. FPV is a force to reckon with, in Australia's segment of high performance cars, with brands such as GT, GT-P, Pursuit, Super Pursuit, F6 Typhoon, F6 Tornado and Force (FPV website, 2006). Its major competitor is Melbourne-based HSV. The current FPV range is a mix of turbocharged inline 6-cylinder and V8-powered Falcons. Each brand has its own conceptual framework and design, and the constant focus of the brand FPV, is to maintain benchmarks set by V8 racing cars. At this point, it is important to lay emphasis on the genetic makeup i.e. the internal structure of the corporate entity called FPV. Initially owned by the UK-based Prodrive company Tickford, FPV joined hands with Ford Australia, as its tuning division to develop itself into the niche category called Motorsport. The major aim of any business organisation is to create and sustain value, through profits. FPV is no different. In very simplistic terms, Value, for any economic entity is measured by a parameter called Economic Value Added, which is defined as the value of an activity that remains after subtracting from it, the cost of opportunity of investing consumed resources, and sovereign debts that accumulate (Stewart III, 1991). In the field of corporate finance, this translates into the following equation (Stewart III, 1991): Return on capital = Net operating profit after Tax / Weighted Average Cost of Capital. As of 2004, Ford Australia recovered a Net profit after tax of $136 mn (Porter, 2004) on shareholder equity of $592 million, and the corresponding return on capital was 26.1% which is a fairly high value in medium-growth automobile industry (Porter, 2004). Thus, it is clear in no uncertain terms, that Ford Performance Vehicles is an enterprising segment in the Performance Cars category, and there is enough scope for organic, and balanced growth in future as demand for faster cars escalate, and infrastructure develops to keep pace with the surge in demand for these vehicles. In upcoming sections, we will elaborate more on the economic analysis of our case study company. Dimensions of the Market FPV has won the 2006 Australian Performance Car of the Year award. For FPV, "diversity" is an essential ingredient in its zeal to retain excellence as laid out by its fraternal organization (FPV website, 2006), for the fiercely competitive Australian business environment. Diversity encompasses its mission-critical drive to transform the