Does Ford India Need To Venture Out of Its Comfort Zone?

I could start by telling you how the automobile market in India is struggling to get by, but that's not new or news. What is news is the fact that the conditions have failed to forestall manufacturers from brining in new products. Pretty much every segment in the market has either grown, even if marginally, or maintained pace in the past one year. Manufacturers are scrambling to woo customers with either new products or updates. Take multi-purpose vehicles (MPV) for example; it welcomed Honda Mobilio to the fold on July 23, 2014, which first debuted in India at the 2014 Delhi Auto Expo amidst much fanfare. The buzz around Mobilio has led its competition to step up their game and nobody is complaining. Then there's the sub-4 metre segment, which already fields cars from Honda, Hyundai, Maruti Suzuki, and Tata.

With so much happening in the market, how could the Blue Oval of the Detroit Big Three be the one to be left behind? Ford's entrant for the sub-4 metre segment, the Figo sedan aka the Ka+, garnered quite a lot of attention. But that's about it. The company's current lineup in India comprises of the EcoSport, Endeavour, Classic, Fiesta, and the Figo, which is rather restricted, at least in terms of segement penetration. While the EcoSport's arrival dates back to 2013, the latest car to roll out from Ford's stable was the 2014 Fiesta sedan. Even with Ka+, that won't come here till 2015, Ford is still left with a couple of segments it could tap into. Off the top of my head, the first one could be the utility segment. Ford's traditional rivals, namely Honda, Tata, Maruti, Mahindra and Toyota, already have products in the segment.

How can Ford stir things up in this segment, you ask? With the B-Max. The B-Max measures 4,077mm in length, 2,067mm in width and 1,604mm in height. It is offered with a myriad of both, petrol and diesel, engine options in the United Kingdoms. The petrol lineup includes a 1.0-litre EcoBoost, a 1.4-litre Duratec, a 1.6-litre Duratec Ti-VCT, whereas the diesel variants include a 1.5-litre Duratorq TDCi and a 1.6-litre Duratorq TDCi. Out of these engine options, Ford could offer the car with 1.0-litre EcoBoost, the 1.4-litre Duratec, and the 1.5-litre Duratorq TDCi since they are already available in India, albeit with different power ratings. What would give them an edge, and us a lot of joy, is if Ford offers these engines in a slightly more powerful state of tune on the B-Max.

Now on to the other segment, i.e. the D2 sedans. With cars like the Hyundai Sonata, Volkswagen Passat, and the Nissan Teana running at the forefront of this one, it leaves much to be desired. I will cut through the chase, because Ford has just the fix in the form of Mondeo. This one is offered with 3 petrol and 3 diesel engine options in the UK, namely, 1.6-litre Duratec Ti-VCT, 1.6-litre EcoBoost, 2.0-litre EcoBoost, 1.6-litre Duratorq TDCi, 2.0-litre Duratorq TDCi, and 2.2-litre Duratorq TDCi. Out of these 6, I believe the 2.0-litre of both, petrol and diesel, are best suited for the Mondeo in India.

Yes, I know the Mondeo was sold in India once upon a time, and failed to take off in the market despite being the best car Ford ever brought to India. That was because it was far ahead of its times and was a complete import, which led to the sedan sporting a rather heavy price-tag. Also, the spare parts were a problem since the company didn't make them in India.

That said, the price for both the cars that I just spoke about would still be beyond India's comfort zone; the conversion of B-Max's starting price from British pound to Indian rupee led me to a figure of Rs 13.40 lakh, while that for the Mondeo was Rs 21.13 lakh. However, producing these cars locally will help Ford fight the price demons and bring the cost down dramatically. The cost of the B-Max could come down to between Rs 7 - 10 lakh, whereas that of a locally produced Mondeo could be Rs 16 - 18 lakh.

We have all seen how good products can turn around a company's fortune; much like the effect Amaze and City had on Honda's sales. For that matter, even the EcoSport, which has been a massive hit since its launch in India, did good for Ford's sales. Considering its international products, I think Ford can do so much better in India but only if they look beyond the segments they already have products in.

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