| atlantacgci.com | |
|
Ford and major auto manufacturing companies have been running to the fast-growing Asian and South American markets rsspect.org Recognising a need to broaden the consumer base and overall size of the market, Ford has taken a plunge in offering a new compact model, aptly christened –Figo. The compact car has been especially designed for the Indian market and is expected to strengthen Ford’s foothold in fast growing and bustling Indian market ambafrance-kwt.org Remember that Volkswagen just launched the VW Polo in India and has set ambitious targets for the Indian market. Ford India’s President and Managing Director, Michael Boneham, said "Come heat, come dust, come monsoon rains or Delhi traffic, the Figo was born and bred for India" automajzel.com Ford has had a successful stint in India thus far and continues to enjoy the confidence of Indian population burgershacksandcity.com However, the Company did not have a small car variant to take on the likes to Suzuki and Hyundai. With Figo, Ford attempts to achieve a chunk of small car market that India offers camdenplaceroatan.com For the record, India buys or prefers small and medium cars unlike the West where Sedans are preferred by consumers over other models. Ford Figo has been priced under 8000$ and is just 12.5 by 5 feet in its size countrygardenconcepts.com The higher end model is priced at little under 12000$ daytonpolitix.com The overall size of the car has been kept small so that it adjusts well in the Indian market and road conditions. The base model is powered with a 1.2 litre, 70 bhp Petrol engine. The diesel version is expensive by about 2500$ and comes with a 1.4 litre engine and 68 bhp. The cars have a top speed of 100 miles an hour and come with a manual transmission system. Ford intends to manufacture the car in Chennai and also wants to expand the operations to export Figo to Southeast Asian and African countries. An an immediate roll-out, it also intends to export Figo to South Africa. The company has already chalked out a strategy to export Figo to South Africa right after Figo’s marketing operations commence in India. As per unofficial estimates, nearly 75 countries are inline to receive Ford Figo. Most of these are Caribbean, Southeast Asian and South American countries. As a brand, Ford has enjoyed tremendous confidence in the Indian market. In the past few years, the brand has grown by over 100% year-on-year with Ford Fiesta and Endeavour becoming bestsellers for Ford. Until now, Ford did not have a product that could target 70% of car buying population in India. With the launch of Ford Figo, the Company expects that it will get a mass-market and based on the past successes, it expects to garner major share of the market as well. The company plans to source parts from Indian manufacturers to keep the costs low. The company had made an investment of $500 million in its Chennai facility that is slated to manufacture 200,000 units a year. The company wants to tap its 164 dealerships that are spread across 97 cities in India to improve its market share and profitability from the Indian market. Ford has had a 23% increase in sales in the month of February over year-on-year sales. The number is too low when you consider the size of Indian market and its penchant for smaller cars. It just sold 3223 units in February. With a healthy production capacity of 200000 cars in India, Ford expects to change this number from a few thousands to something that is more dramatic and significant for Ford.
| |