Following in the foot-steps of carmakers like Suzuki and Hyundai, Ford intends to use low-cost engineering expertise gained in India to make compact cars for other emerging markets. The carmaker has struggled to grab a decent share in the world's fifth-largest automobile market - where small, inexpensive, and yet, powerful cars are favoured.
Also Read: Ford Figo Aspire Review
Ford India sold just 75,000 cars in the previous fiscal year, whereas Maruti Suzuki sold 1.2 million unit. However, the carmaker intends to change that with its first India-specific small car - the Figo Aspire. The car, launched on August 12, gets a starting price of Rs. 4.89 lakh that undercuts rivals like Maruti Suzuki, Honda Motor and Toyota Motor.
Ford believes small cars could make up 60 percent of global sales volumes, and thus the Aspire's engine will also make way into other cars that the company plans to export to Africa and Southeast Asia.
John Lonsdale, head of Ford's B-car program in Asia Pacific, told Reuters, "We are being challenged to find engineering solutions at lower costs than we have traditionally been able to do. This market, probably even more than Brazil, is demanding cost strategies and cost structures that are lower than anywhere else."
IHS Automotive, a consulting firm, believes India is set to become the third-largest automobile market in the world by 2020, when sales of compact cars are expected to double to around 1.73 million.
© Thomson Reuters 2016
