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Mar. 10 – Ford India officially launched its first made-for-India model in New Delhi yesterday, hoping to target the small car market which accounts for 70 percent of the country’s automobile sales.
The Figo, priced aggressively at US$7690, is set to compete against already established models like Hyundai’s i10, General Motor’s Beat, Chevrolet’s Spark, Volkswagen AG’s Polo, and Maruti Suzuki’s Ritz and Swift. Renault, Nissan, Toyota, and Honda also have plans to introduce models into the market within the next few years.
“If you are not in a segment where 70 percent of cars in India are purchased, you are not there at all,” said Ford India President Michael Boneham at a press conference.
“This is the right product and at the right price point for Ford,” he said, commenting on the low price of the Figo. “We are not in the business to lose money. You can get profits of scale and you can also compete in a very price-sensitive environment.”
Ford will be manufacturing its new model at their plant in Chennai, which has a production capacity of 200,000 units per year.
