Sunday, August 30, 2015
Ford fuels price war with EcoSport, priced at Rs 5.59 lakh
Ford joined the price war after its Fusion failed and the Figo became a roaring success, and now, it is again fighting on the price front by launching the EcoSport compact sports utility vehicle or SUV at a starting price of Rs 5.59 lakh only.
The snazzy and unconventional looks of the EcoSport SUV would surely make you think that the car ought to be priced above Rs 7 lakh but Ford has kept it low and is eyeing to eat into the market of Mahindra Quanto, which is the cheapest SUV now.
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| The Ford EcoSport SUV. |
After sedans, it’s probably the time for SUV majors to roll out vehicles, which are priced judiciously.
The Ford EcoSport will come in three engine options – the 1-litre EcoBoost petrol, 1.5-litre Ti-VCT petrol and the 1.5-litre TDCi diesel. The 1.5 Ti-VCT will offer the option of a six-speed dual clutch automatic gearbox (which is there in the Fiesta). But the remaining versions will come with five-speed manual.
While the 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine belts out maximum 125 PS of power, the 1.5-litre petrol and diesel units offer 112 PS and 91 PS respectively. The EcoSport will be available in seven colours and come with 38 accessories.
Ford India is banking on the new vehicle, which is the second-generation model developed in Brazil and was first rolled out in South America in 2003.
“We expect the EcoSport to be a game changer for Ford in India and also set new standards in the country’s auto market,” Ford India’s president and managing director Joginder Singh said during the roll out. The car would be available immediately and the company has already started taking bookings.
Ford India has said it pumped in $142 million into its Chennai plant to make the EcoSport.
Ford is planning to ramp up operations globally, and according to the company, the EcoSport would play a major role in its new plan to achieve a 50 per cent rise in global sales in about five years. Ford is eying sales of eight million vehicles a year by then worldwide.
It hopes to sell nearly 50,000 cars in India this financial year itself. Ford is betting big on the Asian market, which is expected to contribute over 70 per cent to its global sales.
The American car major had a measly market share of 2.85 per cent in the Indian car market during last fiscal and this dropped to less than 2 per cent during April-May. So, Ford needs a big boost and the Figo can’t alone give the company a fillip in volumes and earnings. Ford therefore needs another car like the EcoSport.
So, Ford had to bank on the EcoSport to take it miles ahead and fuel a price war with rival cars like the Maruti DZire, Honda Amaze, Nissan Micra and Mahindra Vibe, with the Quanto being the only SUV to compete on this price front.
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