Ford Motor Co. (F) announced that it will unveil the all new version of its Mustang sports car on Dec 5. This will be the sixth generation of the car, first launched in 1964, simultaneously in New York and 11 European capitals.
While the Mustang will mark its 50th year in 2014, the new version will have a more modern design, greater refinement, world-class power and performance, and innovative technologies. The new model will debut in six cities across four continents. Launch events will be held in New York, Los Angeles, Barcelona, Shanghai and Sydney in addition to Ford's hometown of Dearborn, Mich.
Over the next 15 days, prior to its launch, Ford is teaming up with Facebook Inc. (FB) and Instagram to promote the new Mustang. With over 5.5 million fans, Mustang is the most “Liked” vehicle on Facebook. Moreover, the car has more than 1 million photos tagged on Instagram.
As a part of the promotional activity, 15 top Instagram video creators will make short videos based on photos provided by fans representing what Mustang means to them. Ford will also showcase the first photo of the car on Instagram.
Ford released its third-quarter 2013 results in October. The company posted a 12.5% rise in earnings per share to 45 cents in the reported quarter from 40 cents in the year-ago quarter (all excluding special items). With this, the company beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 38 cents.
Revenues in the quarter grew 12.2% to $36 billion, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $33.8 billion. The improvement was attributable to increased wholesale volumes in automotive business and higher market share in all the regions.
Ford is pursuing a major expansion plan in the mature and emerging markets, primarily Argentina, Brazil, China, India and Thailand. Moreover, the company is creating a new business unit – Ford Middle East and Africa, to capitalize on the growing importance of the Middle East and African markets.
Ford currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Other major automobile stocks worth considering are Daimler AG (DDAIF) and General Motors (GM). While Daimler is a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stock, General Motors carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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