Ford kick-starts EcoSport production in Thailand

Ford has started production of the EcoSport, on January 29, at their new facility in Thailand. The Ford Thailand Manufacturing facility is situated in Rayong. The facility is the fourth plant to make the EcoSport along with plants in India, China and Brazil. 

Ford plans to sell the EcoSport in 100 global markets and keeping this in mind the Thai facility will not only cater to domestic demand but will also export the crossover “across the ASEAN region”.

In Thailand, the EcoSport gets a 1.5-litrefour-cylinder petrol engine that makes 110bhp and 142Nm of torque mated to either a five-speed manual gearbox or a six-speed double-clutch automatic. It is offered with a single engine option and in four trim levels -Ambiente MT and AT, Trend AT and Titanium AT.

It is priced at 669,000 Thai Baht (Rs 12.72 lakh) and the crossover is marketed as an “aspirational alternative to a compact car.”

Matt Bradley, president, Ford ASEAN, said –“The all-new EcoSport continues our ongoing product-led transformation by providing customers with another segment-leading vehicle to our growing Ford showroom across our ASEAN markets. Produced at our highly flexible Ford Thailand Manufacturing facility, it is the next proof point in our continued growth strategy in the region.”

The EcoSport is very popular in India, so much so that Ford had had to stop taking bookings for the car.