Next Mustang to follow Evos concept, ditch retro styling, report says
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DETROIT -- The Ford Mustang will get a major makeover for the 2014 model year, The Wall Street Journal reported today.
The newspaper, citing people familiar with Ford’s plans, said the automaker is working on a makeover that would retain the Mustang’s shark-nosed grille and round headlights, but make the car resemble the new Ford Fusion. Today’s Mustang resembles the original 1964 model.
The change is part of a bid to give the Mustang appeal to Generation Y, consumers born between 1980 and 1999, according to the Journal.
By 2020, Gen Y will represent as much as 40 percent of the car-buying market, according to a 2009 study by the Deloitte consulting firm, but carmakers are finding it more difficult to sell to this demographic. One contributing factor: Nearly half of those aged 18 to 24 say they would choose Internet access over car ownership, according to a study released this year by the Gartner research firm.
Last year, Mustang sales in the United States decreased 4 percent to 70,438 units. By comparison, Ford sold more than 166,000 units in 2006, a year after Ford introduced the retro-style Mustang.
During the first quarter, Ford sold 20,133 Mustangs in the United States, a 31 percent increase over the first three months of 2011 but below the totals of the Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Charger.
The next Mustang’s body closely resembles that of the Evos concept car that Ford showed in September at the Frankfurt auto show, the Journal reported, citing sources who have seen the next Mustang.
Ford would not comment on its plans for the Mustang.
You can reach Ellen Mitchell at emitchell@crain.com.
