India made Ford Ecosport to go to South Africa

The Ford Ecosport which is expected to be launched in the country within the next few months will also be launched in South Africa next year. This seems like a logical step as the South African car market is very similar to the Indian market and the fact that the right-hand drive versions of the Eco-Sport will be manufactured at the American automakers plant outside Chennai. 

While the Indian market is likely to get a 1.5-litre diesel engine variant of the car along with the 1.0-litre 128bhp Ecoboost petrol engine, the South African car market will get only the latter. It will join the Ford Kuga compact SUV, new Ford Fiesta as well as the Transit van as Ford’s offering in South Africa for 2013. 

The Ecopsort has already been launched in China, Brazil and Argentina where it has achieved a considerable level of success. It is likely that Ford is banking on the EcoSport to achieve the same level of success that the Figo hatchback and the Ikon sedan achieved when they were launched. 

Meanwhile, reports have also emerged that the EcoSport's delay in being launched is due to the company not being able to achieve an optimum level of localisation.It is aiming for the same level that it has with the Figo hatchback. This will allow Ford to price the EcoSport competitively as well allow its owners to keep running costs down. A high level of localisation will also mean that wherever the RHD EcoSport is exported to, it can be priced competitively.

Source: Indianautosblog & Indiancarsbikes

Edit: The Ford EcoSport has been launched for Rs 5.59 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
Edit: Here is our live coverage of the launch for the Ford EcoSport