Ford Mustang is already a hit in China and Australia, now to enter Brazil

The Ford Mustang, after more than 50 years as a top-selling sports car in the U.S., hopes to reach global domination with the help of Chinese buyers.

It seems to be working. Ford is reporting 33% sales growth in China so far this year, with three months remaining.

China is known for freshwater pearls, silk and now, it seems, Mustangs.

Since Mustang’s global launch in 2015, the iconic muscle car has become the best-selling sports car in the world’s fastest growing car market. In 2016, sales spiked 74% — from 4,076 to 7,107.

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The Chinese version of the Mustang carried a higher starting price of $60,245 in 2017, or more than twice the U.S. starting price of $25,585 for the 2018 model. The difference is largely because of import tariffs and other taxes.

Chinese buyers purchased 3,114 Mustangs from January through September this year. The new 2018 Ford Mustang doesn’t ship overseas until next year.

“We had about 100 members of Mustang clubs in China when they had to import cars on their own,” said Mark Schaller, marketing manager for Mustang. “Now there are more than 3,000 members of Mustang clubs in China.”

The international appetite comes as no surprise to Rich Homan, senior vehicle evaluation editor at Kelley Blue Book.

“I remember walking through Hyundai’s design studio in Seoul decades ago, and all of the young Korean designers had images of their favorite sports cars plastered around their cubes to give them inspiration," Homan said. "By far, the Ford Mustangs outnumbered every other shape from around the world.”

Global sales of the Ford Mustang rose 6% from 141,953 in 2015 to 150,431 in 2016. The Dearborn-based automaker is hoping to continue the momentum.

Mustang also has become the best-selling sports car in Australia. Previously, Aussies rebuilt the car on their own to put the steering wheel on the right. In 2017, the Mustang in Australia started at $38,804.

Ford Australia touted sales of 6,208 Mustangs in 2016, a total surpassed by 507 in just the first eight months of 2017.

“Last year marked the second straight year that Mustang has achieved best-selling global status,” said Erich Merkle, Ford sales analyst.

More than 98,000 cars shipped out of the U.S. during the first year after the global launch. The 2017 data is not available yet.

Sports cars are a segment that requires constant attention, which is precisely why Ford is coming out with a freshened Mustang so quickly.

Designers took everything learned from 2015, when Ford consciously decided to make the American icon available around the world — then tightened and enhanced every aspect. Carl Widmann, chief program engineer at Mustang, said consumers will notice changes to torque, steering and weight distribution.

“Visual appearance is king. So are aerodynamics and styling," Widmann said. "There’s a performance sound, too. Some of our export customers are coming out of BMW and into Mustang for the first time.”

The 2018 Mustang is being shipped from the assembly plant in Flat Rock to U.S. dealerships now. The plant has made more than 300,000 Mustangs to sell globally, Schaller said. An estimated 80% of the buyers are male and the demographic is growing slowly to include more women and millennials.

“As soon as you get in, you forget all your troubles. You push the start button, the engine growls and comes to life,” Schaller said. “It transports you away.”

Ford has expanded Mustang to 146 countries, with six, including Brazil, added this year. Antarctica is the only continent where Mustang isn’t sold.

Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger remain formidable rivals on the domestic front. The Camaro RS went on sale in China earlier this year.

"It was brilliant for Ford to make Mustang a global player," said Karl Brauer, executive publisher at Autotrader. "Now it's the No. 1-selling performance car in Germany, home to BMW and Porsche. Ford spent 50 years building up equity in the name and then unleashed it."

Nearly 1.8 million people stop by The Henry Ford museum in Dearborn each year, many to see the 1962 Mustang I concept car and the 1965 Mustang, the first year it was sold.

Matthew Anderson, curator of transportation at The Henry Ford, characterized the car as a working person’s Ferrari, "an aspirational car for someone like me who will never be able to afford the $500,000 super car.“

The Mustang name evokes the Wild West and open space. From the beginning, it was designed to conjure up ideas of freedom and open roads," Anderson said.

Industry observers say Mustang typifies Americana, whether it's the popular "Mustang Sally" song or film clips of the Steve McQueen classic “Bullitt” or “Gone in 60 Seconds” or “The Fast and the Furious.”

“The overseas market has seen references to the vehicles for years. It stirs emotion. And for car enthusiasts, that forbidden fruit becomes very enticing,” Schaller said. “Mustang is one of very few vehicles out there where people will tattoo the logo on their body.”

Contact Phoebe Wall Howard: 313-222-6512 or phoward@freepress.com.