Ford Figo India | Ford New Small Car Figo | Ford Figo

Ford Figo India | Ford New Small Car Figo | Ford Figo

The Ford Figo will be produced from the Chennai plant of Ford, and Ford said that the company has invested US $ 500 million in the plant.

The company will announce additional details about the car closer to its commercial introduction early next year.

Small cars – with an engine capacity of 0.8 liters to 1.6 liters – comprised 73% of the 1.22 million cars sold in India in the year ended March 31. With annual sales forecast to grow to 3.0 million units by 2016, global automakers are moving to introduce small cars to the country.

General Motors Corp., Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co., Volkswagen AG and Nissan Motor Co. already sell small cars in India or plan to do so from next year.

Ford said the Figo, which shares technology with its Fiesta hatchback, signals the company’s “intention to compete in India’s largest and most important small car market segment,” and underscores the importance of the country in the company’s international strategy.

“Our exciting new Ford Figo shows how serious we are about India,” said Alan Mulally, Ford’s president and chief executive. He said the new car reflects Ford’s commitment to compete in all segments of India’s car market.

The automaker has invested $500 million in Chennai to double the plant’s production capacity to 200,000 cars per year and introduce advanced production technologies.

The automaker will also produce diesel and gasoline engines in Chennai from next year for local operations and for export to other Ford factories in the Asia-Pacific and Africa.

Ford India, which began operations in 1995, currently produces the mid-sized entry-level Ikon sedan, the Fusion and Fiesta sedans and the Endeavour sport-utility vehicle in Chennai.

Ford sold 10,768 cars and SUVs in India during April-August 2009, an 8.7% decline from the year earlier. In comparison, total passenger vehicle sales in India rose 12% in the same period to 716,594 autos.

Sales of car market leader Maruti Suzuki climbed 17% in the same period to 334,897 autos.

“We believe Ford Figo is a big game-changer for Ford that will help transform our brand into a volume player in India,” said Michael Boneham, Ford India’s president and managing director.

Ford will source up to 85% of the parts for the new car from suppliers in India and add 30 new vendors at the Chennai factory, the company said.’ (source – http://online.wsj.com)

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