Ford India wants to leave no stone unturned when their much talked about Figo hits the market, expected next month. The company has announced opening of 28 new authorised Ford dealer facilities in 24 cities.
The new stores will take the total tally of Ford dealerships to 164 in 97 cities across India. In the past two years, the number of cities with a Ford outlet has jumped more than 30%.
Of the 28 new outlets, 14 offer full 3S (Showroom, Sales and Service) facilities, while seven of the new facilities are service workshops, providing a full line of mechanical services. The remaining new outlets are sales showrooms, where visitors will find a full line-up of Ford vehicles.
As Figo gets ready to hit the market, Ford has set out an aggressive growth particularly in Tier II and Tier III¹ cities. "Growing our dealership base, building strong business fundamentals and getting closer to our customers are areas of high priority as we gear up to launch our new Figo and enter this high volume segment in 2010,'' said Michael Boneham, president and managing director, Ford India.
''Tier II and III cities are significant for Ford. We have opened new facilities in 13 Tier III cities, and more than 40% of Ford service outlets are now located in secondary markets,'' added Boneham.
New facilities have opened in New Delhi, Sangrur, Haldwani and Gwalior in the North; Durgapur, Dhanbad and Guwahati in the East; Hyderabad, Chennai, Warangal, Vellore, Salem, Vijayawada and Malappuram in the South; and Bilaspur and Mehsana in the Western region.
Also as part of the expansion is a new showroom in the East Delhi Metro Rail Station. This new showroom provides visibility and convenience in a high traffic location and makes it more convenient for customers to shop for Ford vehicles. This is the first Ford showroom located in a Metro Rail Station in the Asia Pacific region.
New showrooms and workshops also are now located in Jaipur, Thane, Ahmednagar, Pune, Vapi, Ahmedabad and Cochin.
