Porter's Five Forces - Ford

Extract

[...] So, a company like Ford, for example, in order to better establish its strategy, it is supposed to know its competitors and everything that interacts with them, more specifically companies like Toyota, General Motors, Tesla, etc. - New entrants: these are new businesses that are launching into a specific market or sector. They are often a threat to existing companies, especially if they are strong in technological research and innovation. - Substitute products: these are products manufactured by competitors to replace other already existing products. - Customers: These are the users of a company's products. The consumers of Ford products are its customers. [...]

[...] Porter's Five Forces – Ford I. Introduction A. Ford Based in Dearborn, Michigan, USA, Ford Motor Company is an American automobile manufacturer. It all started on June when Henry Ford, together with 11 other investors, had raised $28,000, equivalent to $797,000 in 2019. The actual production of the cars dates from July 23 of the same year. Having experienced its real success in 1908, with the creation of the ‘Ford T', the latter had reached the number of 15 million in terms of sales around the world. [...]

[...] For the Ford brand, this factor is moderate. In addition, changing providers overnight is not as easy as you might think. Indeed, if the person who uses Ford wants to abandon Ford for a substitute product, he will first have to complete the payment of his debt, for example, in the event that the acquisition of the car was made through a loan. For Ford, this factor is moderate. Finally, the performance of substitute products is often inferior to that of Ford. [...]

[...] However, for Ford to become an industry leader, several reforms must be put in place. Indeed, Ford will have to constantly innovate to keep its customers because it is through new products that Ford will also be able to reduce the threat of new entrants. If existing customers are completely satisfied, then they will tend to stick with Ford instead of looking at other options. To do this, research is needed on the side of Ford because technological innovations, for example, are the result of several years of research. [...]

[...] Indeed, it will be necessary to gain market share, to innovate each time to face this massive competition. However, as noted above, companies like Toyota, General Motors are the ones that dominate the industry. It is, therefore, difficult to fight and continue to survive in such an environment. It is the technological innovation that rules the industry. It is an important and major factor in keeping Ford in the race. The hardest thing to do is gain market share, maintain it, and prevent customers from going out to compete (customers switching sides). [...]