Word: forde
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...Ford needs to be more aggressive in the India car market, which is expected to grow 10% this year. One of the first foreign car makers to set up shop in the country, Ford in 1996 established a joint venture with domestic vehicle manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra. But 13 years later, it sells just 2,000 vehicles a month in India in the compact and mid-size car segments, according to the New Delhi-based Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers. India's biggest car company, Suzuki India, sells 57,000 cars a month in the same segments; Hyundai sells...
...Ford clearly wants to improve its standing. On Sept. 23, CEO Alan Mulally was in New Delhi to unveil a new four-door hatchback called the Figo that is aimed squarely at India and neighboring South Asian countries. Designed by Indian engineers on the Fiesta platform, the new small car "is going to be a game changer," predicts Michael Boneham, president and managing director of Ford India. When it debuts next year, the Figo (the name means "cool" in Italian) will be made in India and powered by either a 1.2-liter gas or 1.5-liter diesel engine. Ford also...
...Figo's sticker price is yet to be disclosed, but sources at Ford say it will cost around $7,000. Although the price is more than triple that of Tata Motor's Nano city car, "its aggressive pricing from Ford," says Hormazd Sorabjee, editor of AutoCar India magazine in Mumbai. "It could be the cheapest Ford in the world." Says Colin Langan, auto-industry analyst for UBS Financial Services: "Ford's latest moves are all about gaining market share." (See the 12 most important cars of all time...
...Jagdish Khattar, former managing director of Suzuki India who now runs Carnation Auto, an independent multibrand auto sales start-up, attributes Ford's poor showing to a lack of the right mass-market product. Its India models - the Fiesta, Ikon and Fusion - are relatively large and expensive (for India). Small cars - those powered by engines of 1.5 liters or less and generally costing no more than $8,000 - drive 70% of auto sales in the country. "Ford was operating in just 30% of the market," says Khattar. "All the action was happening elsewhere." The diminutive Figo is Ford...
...strengthen distribution for a raft of new models. Even GM on Sept. 24 announced an unusual collaboration with Bangalore's Reva Electric Car, makers of the G-Wiz, to produce small, affordable electric vehicles for India. Mulally said recently that India would play a big role in accelerating Ford's presence in the Asia-Pacific region - but the company will have to fight off numerous competitors who are all driving toward the same destination...