Ford Motor to Shutter Japan and Indonesia Operations Amid Weak Market Shares

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By Jacob Maslow

Ford Motor announced on Monday that it will cease all its operations in Japan and Indonesia.  The U.S.  car maker believes there is “no reasonable path to profitability” in the said countries where it sold just over 11,000 vehicles last year.

In an email addressed to all Ford Motor employees, Asia Pacific President Dave Schoch said Ford would close all offices and dealerships and cease all sales and imports of Ford and Lincoln vehicles within the year. The email also mentioned that the company will have to let go of 327 Ford Japan and Ford Indonesia following the shuttering.

Ford has been operating in Japan since 1974 and in Indonesia in 2002.  In 2015, Ford Japan, through its 52 dealers, sold around 5,000 cars and held a 0.1% market share.

On the other hand, Ford Indonesia was able to sell 6,000 vehicles through its 44 dealerships and also struggled with a 0.6% market share.

According to a Ford spokeswoman based in China, Ford Motor’s weak figures in Indonesia is largely due to the fact that it doesn’t have a plant in the country.  “In Indonesia, without local manufacturing…there’s really no way that automakers can compete in that market,” she said.

Ford Motor isn’t the first U.S. automaker to exit Indonesia due to weak market shares.  Just last year, General Motors stopped manufacturing GM-branded cars in the country, resulting in the loss of 500 jobs.

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