Ford Credit announces its 2 MILLIONTH customer milestone
Ford Credit, the financial services arm of Ford Motor Company, has announced that it has reached the 2 million customer milestone for its industry-leading flexible Options product in the UK.
In recognition of reaching this customer milestone, Ford Credit celebrated by awarding the first 30 customers past the 2 million mark a refund on the first monthly payment of their finance package.
As the first automotive finance company to offer flexible Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) products in the UK nearly 30 years ago, Ford Credit has a long history of supporting customers with its innovative car financing products and services, particularly during challenging times.
Looking ahead, as the nation battles the cost-of-living crisis, the business expects to remain at the forefront of consumer car finance, providing drivers with much-needed flexibility and support to meet their ever-changing needs.
Help in times of need
With customers always a top priority, Ford Credit already offers various modes of support to help vulnerable customers regardless of the situation, including offering payment extensions and holidays, and reduced payment options for customers in need.
However, the business is doubling down on its efforts to help customers keep their vehicles and stay on the road as many navigate potential changes to their financial situation over the coming months.
Ford Credit is currently trialling a number of solutions aimed at offering customers greater flexibility, including allowing them to change their mileage allowance should their situation or needs change. The business also recently introduced a new option for customers as part of its flexible Options product, enabling them to keep their vehicle (under a new finance contract) until they are ready to buy it, trade it in for a new car or hand it back to the business.
The product continues to evolve and disrupt with a new option recently introduced to enable customers to retain their vehicle (under a new finance contract) until they are ready to buy it, trade it in for a new car or hand it back.
Flexibility and support
Beyond these initiatives, the business will also be doubling down on its core pillars of flexibility, personalisation and customer focus to maintain the highest level of service throughout this period.
A big learning from the pandemic was the importance of having multiple touchpoints for customers to speak with someone about their financing needs during challenging times. This is a key advantage of Ford Credit’s omnichannel experience, bringing together its store-led partner network with its online ‘Shop & Buy’ platform.
The business also works closely with individual customers to understand their personal financial situation, as well as analysing broader driver data on developing trends, to ensure its products are always as targeted and tailored as possible to meet their needs. Again, this approach will prove invaluable to many drivers as they face ongoing uncertainty over the coming months.
Finally, the business will continue to focus on providing customers with the flexibility required to meet their changing needs throughout this crisis, as evidenced during the pandemic when it introduced a range of frameworks and new finance solutions to respond rapidly to changing customer requirements and evolving trends.
Commenting, Carlos Treadway, CEO of Ford Credit Europe, said:
“Customers are changing. The way they want to buy cars and engage with the company has changed – it’s more direct, online and personalised. But we know customers. We’ve been doing this for a number of years, supporting over two million customers through the good times and bad. There are lots of other companies that can do what we do but there’s not companies that know Ford customers like we do. We’ve always focused on having a deep relationship with customers but we’re even more dialled in now to really finding those moments that matter for them and supporting them through any changes.”
