India made Ford EcoSport to go to the middle-east?

The Ford EcoSport has been spied testing in various guises (LHD included) in around Chennai as well as other parts of Tamil Nadu and has been touted as one of the hottest and most eagerly awaited vehicles of the year. Now a report from MENAFN, a financial service network for the middle-east, says the EcoSport will be launched in the region later this year. Since Ford builds and exports the Ford Figo for foreign markets at its Chennai plant, it is likely that this will be same case for the EcoSport.   

Such a development would explain why Ford has been spied testing a 1.5-litre petrol automatic variant of the compact SUV.  While such vehicle would not find favour with our buyers due to low fuel efficiency, it would suit the middle-eastern markets very well where in some countries petrol is cheaper than a bottle of water. 

It would also seem logical export the car from the Indian facility as it the American automakers closest manufacturing plant to the Gulf region. The third reason is that Ford is doing quite well in the Gulf and has sold over 75,000 units in 2012. It would seem like a wise step to introduce the compact SUV as it has done quite in all other markets that it is sold in. 

 In India, the Ford EcoSport will be the American automakers first foray in the highly competitive compact SUV segment which is currently populated by vehicles like the Mahindra Quanto, Renault Duster and the ‘off the pace’ but still pushing along Premier Rio. It will be powered by the award winning 1.0-litre Ecoboost petrol engine and 1.5-litre TDCi DuraTorq diesel engine which powers the Figo (with a slightly lower output). 

Source: MENAFN

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