Ford Australia says it can’t stop ‘scalpers’ selling Mustangs for 50 per cent more than the retail price

Ford Australia says it can’t stop ‘scalpers’ selling Mustangs for 50 per cent more than the retail price

January 22, 2016.06:54pm

Mustang muscle arrives down under


AND you thought hard-to-get concert tickets were expensive.
Now the new Ford Mustang has become the hot ticket with ‘scalpers’.
With the waiting list for the just-released new model stretching out to 12 months, some customers are advertising their cars for more than $30,000 above the $57,490 retail price for the V8 coupe.
At least four cars were found online advertised over the odds while some dealers are said to be making a more than healthy profit margin.
But there is nothing Ford Australia can do to stop them.
LOOKING GOOD: New Ford Mustang arrives in Australia
One of the lucky ones ... Happy new owner Rosemary Armstrong, of a new Ford Mustang. Picture: Jono Searle.
One of the lucky ones ... Happy new owner Rosemary Armstrong, of a new Ford Mustang. Picture: Jono Searle.Source:News Corp Australia
The boss of Ford Australia, Graeme Whickman, told News Corp Australia that while it is flattering to see the Mustang in high demand, he would prefer customers pay a “fair price”.
“We deliver solid information… but at the end of the day the dealer and the customer decide what the vehicle is going to be sold and bought for,” said Mr Whickman.
“We love the fact that Mustangs are in hot demand but we don’t get involved in those pricing decisions between dealers and customers. There is a legal environment we all work in.”
The Ford boss said some customers had taken delivery of their cars and are trying to sell them for a quick profit.
But any cancelled customers orders would not go to the selling dealer, they would be reallocated by Ford Australia.
Long wait ... The 2016 Ford Mustang in Australia. Picture: Supplied.
Long wait ... The 2016 Ford Mustang in Australia. Picture: Supplied.Source:Supplied
“We want to get them into the hands of customers who’ve been waiting the longest,” said Whickman.
Even though Ford itself increased the price of the Mustang by up to $2500 in December — after receiving 4000 orders instead of the 1000 it forecast — it still wants to keep the Mustang “affordable”.
“The whole notion of having an affordable hero car is important to us,” said Mr Whickman. “We will always watch demand and supply but the whole idea of this car was to put people into an iconic Ford at an affordable price.”
The chief engineer for the new Ford Mustang visited Australia to understand why there is such huge demand for the muscle car, the first factory-made right-hand-drive Mustang in 50 years.
“The interest in this market has really surprised us … and we need to understand it better,” said chief engineer Carl Widmann.
Working around the clock ... Mustang makers are working at full speed to try and meet the demand for the car. Picture: Supplied.
Working around the clock ... Mustang makers are working at full speed to try and meet the demand for the car. Picture: Supplied.Source:Supplied
The reason behind the 12-month delay — aside from the unexpected demand — is that there are more than 100 unique parts big and small to make a right-hand-drive model.
When Ford forecast how many cars it would build — decisions it must make a year in advance of going on sale, in the ramp-up to production — it played it safe and only ordered a certain number of those unique right-hand-drive parts.
He said the Mustang factory in Michigan was working “around the clock” for 22 hours a day, six days a week and it was unlikely the waiting list would shorten anytime soon.
Meantime, buyers who want to test drive a new Mustang will only be able to sample the four-cylinder model.
Dealers are only being allocated four-cylinder demonstrators even though 90 per cent of orders are for the V8

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