About 98% or 99% of the Craiova-assembled B-Max cars are exported but demand went down in 2014. However, the decline was not as abrupt as the company had expected.
Data on automotive website left-lane.com shows B-Max was the fourth best-selling model on its segment in Europe, with 31,520 units delivered in the first half, down 18% on the year-ago period, while the overall segment grew by 8%, largely because of the sales of models like Fiat 500 L and Nissan Note, the category leaders.
“We are OK with the sales of B-Max at the moment,” Ford vice-president said.
It has a good market share on its segment and has had it from the beginning, doing better than initially expected. Of course, as a model gets older, sales are naturally expected to dwindle, he added.
Bakaj is responsible for all product programs for the company’s European operations, a position he got on November 1, 2013 and reports to Stephen Odell, executive vice-president and president, Europe, Middle East and Africa. Bakaj has a 28-year experience in developing new cars in Europe, Japan and US.
Prior to this role, Bakaj served as vice president of power train engineering, responsible for overseeing all engine and transmission engineering worldwide, beginning in January 2011.
He attended the Paris Motor Show, one of the most important events of the automotive industry worldwide.
Ford began B-Max production in 2012 and the model is nearing the end of its life cycle. The decline in B-Max sales has been causing a production halt for a few days in Craiova each month, with production halts in September 2013 – September 2014 amounting to almost four months.
Dacia is having the same problem with its Lodgy MPV, which sold less than 35,000 units last year, much fewer than initially expected by Jean Christophe Kugler, the head of Renault operations for the Eurasia region, which includes Romania.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)