First they cause problems for car manufactures that manage factories on the U.S/Mexico border, but now Ford is facing another huge problem, which is out of its control or any logical control when you think about it. Who are we talking about? Mexico’s drug cartels.
Sales of the
F-150, Lobo in Meheeco, have plummeted because of the image connected with drug cartels. Cartel hitmen like the
F-150 above any other pick-up truck, however, Mexico’s pick-up market is suffering as a whole.
Customers are leaving the
F-150 alone because soldiers often pursue it at checkpoints and border crossings. Ford is informed of this issue.
“It’s a vehicle that is in high demand for committing crimes,” said Gabriel Lopez, Ford’s newly-assigned president of Mexican operations. “There’s plenty of space in the pick-up’s cabin for more weapons.”
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| Mexican police patrol in 2008 Ford 'Lobo' |
Weedy
F-150 sales have hard-pressed Ford’s market share down to 10.6% from 16%, just a few years ago. Ford’s year-to-date sales in Mexico are down 7% overall, driven mainly by poor demand for the
F-150.
