Ford’s Chennai facility attained a new landmark on this Tuesday, of building the 4,00,000th engine in India. The American car maker did commemorate the occasion at the factory and also interacted with the media, divulging some details about their future plans.
As expected, the yet to be launched EcoSport was the main topic of discussion, even though Ford avoided providing any specific details about the launch and pricing. The Ford India president and managing director, Micheal Boneham, however confirmed that 80 per cent of the EcoSport components will be localized. The same amount of localization is seen in the Figo and the recently rebadged Classic; it implies that Ford is expecting high numbers from the model and is going aggressive right from the start. Apart from locally made parts, the sub-four meter length of the EcoSport will provide Ford tax benifits offered to the small cars.
The EcoSport is the second of the eight new Ford products to arrive in India by 2015; first was the 2011 Fiesta. This compact crossover will be available in both petrol and diesel variants – the petrol version will be powered by the award winning 1.0-litre 3-cylinder EcoBoost packing 120bhp and 200Nm, while the diesel will be 1.5-litre Duratorq used in the new Fiesta. There are rumours that the EcoSport will be launched by the start of 2013, to compete with the Renault Duster and the Mahindra Xylo Mini. Though, we think Ford might hasten the launch a bit to Diwali, as the Xylo Mini is also expected in the same period.
Ford is also testing the facelift version of the Figo hatchback and the new version may be rolled-out before start of October.
