Future "middle-class" subscribes to Ford

Someone wanting to identify the profile of those planning to or actually buying a Ford car would simply have a great deal of trouble doing it, for there is just no such thing a standard client and this is where the company’s individuality comes in.

This happens because Ford “does not sell fleets” but is “world champion” of retail, says Viorel Niculescu, general manager of Romcar, sole importer and dealer of Ford in Romania.

The over one hundred cars Romcar sold throughout March this year went to 96 clients, while in April 98 cars were sold to 92 clients.

This actually reflects the spirit and philosophy of the auto giant, the first carmaker ever to want to enable everyone to buy a car, through the famous “a five-dollar per day salary for a $270 car” strategy applied decades ago in Ford’s native country.

As for Romania, the Romcar manager feels, Ford targets a “middle client,” the representative of a class still in the making. Such a clientele level means a constant challenge for those selling a Ford car, as well: “We have clients who can afford it, as Ford is no cheap car, but no foreign car is cheap in Romania; we must treat them as they deserve to, taking their wealth and social position into account.”

Somehow venturing towards a comparison, Niculescu believes the community of Ford clients in Romania is similar to the community of Mercedes clients in Europe, where it comes to their demands – which entails the right kind of efforts from Ford dealers: “that’s what competition and that’s what life is – got yourself a bike, you got to ride it.”

As for those people selling Ford cars, Niculescu says he is proud of them. As for himself, he feels he is some kind of technical manager, coaching his team and who always has to determine the exact motivation-performance ratio.

He says he tries to inoculate his people with the pride of being part of the Ford family, a feeling also based on the chance of selling state-of-the-art products.