Ford Figo battle with small cars in India
Ford India manufactures and distributes automobiles made at its modern integrated manufacturing facility, at Maraimalai Nagar, near Chennai. With more than 2,300 employees, the company’s models include the Ikon, Fusion, Endeavour and the Fiesta and now the company is targeting Indian market and export sales by introducing new Figo which will compete with small cars from Maruti, Tata Motors, Chevrolet and Hyundai.
It is evident that Ford was not present in the Auto Expo 2010 held at Delhi. On Sept 23 2009 Ford’s global CEO has revealed brand new Ford Figo targeting Indian market now the same car is about to enter India and will be available at the dealerships from March 2010. Ford Figo wil be priced between Rs. 3.5 lakh to Rs. 4.5 lakh according to the variant.
The new Figo will battle with small cars from Maruti, Tata Motors, Chevrolet and Hyundai. The car would come with a 1.19-litre petrol engine and a 1.4-litre diesel engine, with three or four variants in each. Design-conscious Italy inspired the new Ford Figo’s name. Figo is colloquial Italian for “cool.” Ford Figo features a fresh, contemporary shape that will be a distinctive alternative to traditional brands in this segment. The design language conveys a dynamic spirit of energy in motion.
According to the press release on the launch of this car “From its modern headlamps, grille shapes and sculpted bonnet of its distinctive face to the subtle integrated spoiler and chamfered window shape at the rear, Ford Figo is filled with kinetic design touches. These also include sculpted shapes to the body side – chiseled front fenders, a “comet tail” undercut in the doors and additional light-catching sculpting in the lower bodyside – which combine to communicate the solidity, substance and protective safety of its design.”
The model will come in seven bright colours of which three are regular colors while four colours will be new scintillating colors to give Indian customers something unique in looks.
“We’re confident that the new Ford Figo will be extremely attractive to Indian car buyers,” said Michael Boneham, president and managing director, Ford India. “It’s going to be very competitive with the current market leaders and offer a tremendous value story for our consumers. We believe Ford Figo is a big game-changer for Ford that will help transform our brand into a volume player in India.”
