Ford, keen on making a foothold in the fast-growing small car market in India, on Tuesday officially launched its compact car Figo in petrol and diesel variants, with entry level models priced at Rs.3.50-lakh and Rs.4.48-lakh, respectively.
The U.S.-based carmaker also announced plans to introduce one new car every year across various segments to consolidate its position in the Indian car market.
Stating that the company's focus was to become a significant player in the Indian small car market that accounted for over 70 per cent of over 12-lakh passenger cars sold every year, Ford India President and Managing Director Michael Boneham said: “We probably need more entries in the small car segment… we will continue to focus on that segment.” “We have kept our promise and priced all the four Figo models competitively… We are committed to setting new benchmarks within Figo in this segment, which offers more features, interior space, technology and durability than other vehicles at this price in this segment,” he said.
Figo will be available with 1.2 litre petrol and 1.4 litre diesel engines. As per test standards, the petrol version will offer a mileage of 15.6 km a litre and the diesel version 20 km a litre. Being produced at the company's Chennai plant which had an annual capacity of 2-lakh units, Figo came with 85 per cent localisation that had helped the company offer attractive prices without compromising on the profitability factor, Mr. Boneham pointed out. Referring to exports, Mr. Boneham said Ford would start shipping Figo to the South African market later this year, while the company was also looking at other markets for its exports. According to Ford President (Asia Pacific and Africa) Joe Hinrichs, “Figo is the first in a series of specific vehicles for the Indian customers. We are going to expand our portfolio in India by bringing in Ford global products that will be based on a completely new platform. India will be a part of Ford's global platform strategy.”
