Suppliers hold the key to Ford luxury future.(Suppliers)

Automotive News Europe, December, 2002 by Wernle, Bradford

Byline: Bradford Wernle Automotive News Europe

Suppliers to Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo will play a key role in the future development of Ford's three high-volume Premier Automotive Group brands.

But the suppliers must be prepared to invest, said Hans Gustavsson, director of product development at Jaguar and Land Rover.

"By sharing expertise with suppliers, we can devote more resources to what makes each brand unique," said Gustavsson, who also serves as director of commonality at Premier. In his commonality role, Gustavsson helps determine which systems will be shared and which will be kept unique for each brand.

"We must rely on suppliers with the capability and competencies to develop a wide range of components that can be...

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