Ford India Private Limited is a fully owned subsidiary of Ford Motor Company, which is operating in the domestic car market since 1995. Over the years, the company has launched several models in the country, since its inception. The company has a facility in Chennai that has an annual capacity of around 150000 units per year. With this facility, the company rolled out its first model in the country named Escort. However, the car did not rake in good sales and it was later replaced by the Ikon model during the year 2001. Ford Ikon was launched in the mid-size segment and the car soon over build a significant amount of customer base in the country. Based on the B3 platform adopted by the company, Ikon was mainly targeted at younger generation of people.
In terms of engine configurations, Ford Ikon was available in three engine options out of which two were petrol and one diesel. The petrol version of Ikon was offered in 1.3-litre and 1.6-litre engine option that had different specifications altogether. The 1.3-litre SOHC petrol unit gave away 74 bhp of peak power while the other 1.6-litre powertrain generated 94 bhp. On the other hand, the 1.8-litre l4 diesel engine of Ikon generated power that equals to 50 bhp. While for engine transmission options, the 5-speed manual gearbox was present in addition to a 4-speed system.
In India, Ford Ikon was relaunched in November 2008 in diesel and CNG fuel options. Also to mention, the company changed its exteriors in order to match the standards set by Maruti Suzuki Swift DZire and Chevrolet Aveo. Also, a special variant named Ikon 1.3-litre Flair was manufactured by Ford in which the company worked on the aspect of fuel economy. Apart from this, the company introduced Ford Ikon diesel with iKool edition that featured an iPod compatible music system, rear spoiler, Autocop anti-theft system and leather seat covers.
However with increasing competition, Ford Ikon was discontinued in 2011 after Fiesta VI was introduced in the Indian auto market, amid great buzz. Ever since the Ikon model lost out on its popularity, the American car company has not been faring well in the Indian auto market. Somehow models like Fiesta still managed to rake in good amount of sales but they did not match the standards set by its rivals. At present, the fleet of Ford in India comprises of Figo hatchback, Classic sedan, EcoSport compact Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), Ford Fiesta sedan and Endeavour premium SUV.
