
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, December 1, 1994                   TAG: 9412010071
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder Newspapers
DATELINE: DEARBORN, MICH.                                LENGTH: Medium

MORE EXPLORERS COMING

Ford hopes a second plant building its popular Explorer sport-utility vehicles will boost its share of the North American car and truck market by as much as a percentage point next year and push it toward a 20-year high.

Ford Automotive Operations President Ed Hagenlocker made the prediction this week in a news conference in Louisville, Ky., before a ceremony marking the start of 1995 Explorer and Ranger compact pickup production. The new Explorer goes on sale Dec. 26. The price of the new model is expected to be released around Dec. 10.

When it brings its St. Louis plant on line in January, Ford will be able to build about 450,000 Explorers a year - 300,000 in Louisville and up to 150,000 in St. Louis, which also builds the rear-drive Aerostar minivan.

``In my opinion, we could have sold a hundred thousand more Explorers every year for the last four years if we had the capacity to meet that demand,'' Hagenlocker said.

``We will continue to let the market determine what our ultimate share of the market is, and we'll put the capacity in place to meet it,'' Hagenlocker said.

But he conceded Ford's aggressiveness in adding capacity and new products would make a difference.

``I don't like giving any competitor any share easily.''

Ford's market share next year also could be positively affected by:

-Expected customer enthusiasm for next fall's total redesign of the Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable sedans.

-A new, smaller F-Series pickup, also due out next fall.

-Chrysler's changeover of its Windsor, Ontario, plant to build its redesigned minivans. With Chrysler having just half its minivan capacity available in early 1995, Ford could get some Chrysler customers.

Ford's total share of 25.5 percent last year was its best since 26.1 percent in 1978. It had 27.5 percent in 1974, well before Japanese automakers began selling one in four cars and trucks in North America.

Hagenlocker said a 1995 market share of 26 percent or higher would ``begin to chart territory that we haven't been at for quite a while.''

It also would edge Ford closer to the 30 percent North American share that chairman Alex Trotman has said is possible with existing capacity. Ford executives chafe at hearing the 30 percent figure stated as a goal, but the mission of Ford's global reorganization is to be the world's leading automaker.

by CNB