SUV’s sales does better than Figo’s.
By R. Chandrasekaran
CHENNAI: The United States-based Ford Motor Co. has been in India for more than a decade now launching different models during the period. However, it was the small car model, Figo, which turned the tide in its favor since its launch of the model in 2010.
If Ford’s Figo turned out to be a game changer for its Indian unit, its EcoSport, a sports utility vehicle (SUV) could well take the lead from where Figo has placed the company currently. The number of vehicles booked immediately after the launch and the vehicles sold clearly indicates that these two brands hold much for the company’s Indian unit and its contributions to its parent company in the U.S.
When Ford launched its Figo model in March 2010, it received a strong booking of 10,000 in the first month itself. The model was also named as car of the year by some automobile magazines in India. The booking increased to 25,000 by the first 100 days of its launch. It may look small compared with Maruti, but for the company it was a significant number to open with.
When Figo hit the Indian roads in 2010, it became a hit in the small car segment. The pricing also played its part in changing the fortunes of Ford India, which discontinued the first model of Ford Escort in 2011. This apart, its network and spare parts policy also contributed to Figo’s uptick.
Today, Figo has witnessed sales crossing the 0.3 million mark in its third year. Before the launch of Figo, car sales of Ford India were reported to be around 30K. After its launch, sales have come between 80K and 90K. This is enough for anyone to come to a conclusion that Figo has changed the Indian unit’s fortunes completely.
EcoSport was launched on June 27th. Within 17 days of its launch, the brand could generate a booking of 30K, eclipsing Figo’s booking numbers. The company had Endeavour, another SUV, earlier, but failed to generate the kind of response it was required.
In 2011, the company had to discontinue many models, including Ikon, Fusion and Mondeo. Ford had also launched Fusion and Fiesta, but it is Figo and EcoSport that are their top sellers now.
At a time when every company was reporting a significant fall in monthly sales, Ford India reported a significant sales growth of 48.23 percent in July to 12,338 units driven by EcoSport. Domestic sales advanced 26.15 percent and exports more than doubled.
Ford’s executive director for marketing, sales and service Vinay Piparsani recently commented, “With Chennai strongly positioned as a regional export hub for Ford, we are excited to register the highest-ever exports too and are hopeful that the Chennai-built vehicles will satisfy customers in international markets.”
To contact the author, email to rchandrasekaran@americanbazaaronline.com