Sponsored content: Ford plans to sell Mustang in Europe, but at what cost?

The Ford Mustang has been a classic American car for nearly 50 years. In fact, in 2014, the vehicle will have it’s 50th anniversary. In honor of that anniversary, Ford plans to unveil their new Mustang designed for the European market at the 2014 New York Auto Show. In the face of the failing vehicle economy, Ford hopes to continue to bring in
profits by expanding into the European market.

Ford hopes that by expanding their vehicle sales into other countries, they will be able to improve their overall sales. Although the Mustang is an American car, there are many fans of the brand outside of the United States. Ford hopes to capitalize on these enthusiasts and hopefully bring in more fans, which equals potential customers, by allowing the sale of the new Mustang outside of the United States. Currently, Ford has several other vehicle models sold in Europe, as part of their “One” campaign, but the Mustang has remained strictly on American soil, until now.

So, what exactly does Ford have to do to sell the Mustang brand abroad? To sell Mustangs outside of the United States, Ford will have to make several changes to the design of the vehicle. Some of the options that the company is considering is making the Mustang a smaller, lighter, more fuel efficient car to please European customers. Adding something flashy and “pimping” out an original pony car is not enough to get European customers to bite. Vehicle experts believe that the new Mustang sold in Europe will look similar to the Evos Concept, which combines the sporty look of European vehicles with the power of American cars.

Those wary of the design changes are afraid that giving the Mustang too many variations would destroy the integrity of the brand. These fans are afraid that if you take away the traditional elements of the Mustang’s design, it is no longer a Mustang. Some even feel that by making changes so the vehicle will sell in Europe will dilute the brand, which will actually hinder the sales in both Europe and America. This, obviously, would be the opposite effect of them pursuing the European market in the first place.

Other proposed changes to the Mustang include a right-side drive option for U.K. buyers and an overall smaller and more high-tech design to appeal to younger drivers. This is all in the same plan that Ford has for globalizing all of their vehicles, downsizing car mass, and improving fuel and engine performance with smaller engines rather than larger. Although Ford is still keeping the basic Mustang design and many of its truly American elements, such as Magnum 500 wheels, it is going to have to change some of the core elements that made the car so great in the first place.

Mustang enthusiasts believe that the necessary changes to make the car sell in Europe are betrayals of the brand. These die-hard fans believe that what Europeans like about the Mustang, is what make it a Mustang after all and not like the other European cars. In the end, Ford is going to have to choose between compromising their Mustang brand with the possibility of opening a new market in Europe.